2. Daxton

TWO

DAXTON

I couldn't get the woman's face out of my head, and my panther wouldn't let me forget her sweet vanilla scent, either. We'd finished our patrol of the tribe's land—something we all had taken on since we knew Lucius, the guy who'd come after Kiera, could still be a lingering threat—and heard a commotion. Driven by instinct, my panther headed in that direction and found the woman cornered by a rabid dog. Without hesitation, he'd intervened.

Once the woman's safety was ensured, my panther had retreated, but the image of her lingered in my head. There had been a mix of terror and awe reflected in her eyes I didn't think I'd ever forget. My panther's reaction to her was another thing I knew I wouldn't forget anytime soon, either. In all our years, he'd never felt such a strong need to protect a human, especially a woman.

It surprised me.

As I pulled on the pair of athletic shorts I'd hidden in the underbrush, it was all I could think about. That need to protect seemed to follow me, lingering in my thoughts even as I walked home to get ready for work. Once I showered and downed a quick protein shake, I grabbed my gym bag and headed out to my motorcycle. I noticed Miranda as I exited my camper. She was filling up the new satchels on her motorcycle she'd recently bought with packages to ship out for her online lotion and serum shop.

"No luck?" she asked, and I knew she was talking about finding Lucius.

I shook my head. "Same old, same old."

It wasn't, though. There had been that woman and the dog. However, for whatever reason, I wanted to keep that to myself.

"Figures," she said, shoving the last package into her overstuffed satchel. "I guess that's a good thing, though."

"You know, if you keep selling those potions of yours at the rate you're going, you'll need to trade in that bike and get yourself a car," I teased her.

"Bite your tongue," she shot back, narrowing her eyes. "That day will never come. I'll ride till I die."

"Hear, hear," I said, a grin spreading across my face.

That was something we all had in common. Each of us in the tribe loved our bikes, and I didn't see that changing anytime soon.

Miranda cranked her engine to life and sped off while I strapped my gym bag on the back of mine and then followed. The ride to the fitness center wasn't long, but I'd hoped it would be enough of a distraction to get the woman from earlier out of my head.

It wasn't.

As I walked through the double doors of the fitness center, I couldn't help but think about her again. Her face haunted me. It was those beautiful big blue eyes of hers. And it wasn't only me—my panther reacted each time I thought about her, too.

Why, though?

I didn't know who she was, which meant there shouldn't be any significance to her or the situation I'd found her in. That rabid dog could have gone after anyone.

After I set my gym bag in the staff room, I grabbed my water bottle and slipped effortlessly into my role here, shoving the morning's event—and my panther—to the back of my mind. I greeted clients with a friendly smile and cracked a few jokes with some of the staff.

Moving throughout the morning, I offered bits of advice on form and technique to clients, answered questions, and scheduled sessions with some of my regulars. To any onlooker, I was an approachable personal trainer, fully immersed in my work. Inside, I was anything but, and my panther was hell bent on letting me know it today.

I tried to stay present in what I was doing and where I was, but he kept screwing with me and thoughts of the woman from earlier this morning kept invading my mind. I kept seeing her shocked expression and the slight bit of awe reflected in her stare when she'd looked at my panther. It was imprinted in my skull, and it kept stirring my panther to life.

I exhaled a slow, controlled breath, struggling to contain him again, all while demonstrating the proper lifting technique for a client. My panther wouldn't listen this time, though. He wouldn't stand down.

Something called to him, luring him out.

I glanced around the gym, thinking maybe Lucius had finally decided to make an appearance, but didn't see him. Instead, I saw her—the woman from this morning.

She was here.

When my gaze landed on her, my panther went wild. I didn't understand why he responded to her so strongly. It didn't make sense.

Excusing myself from the client I'd been working with, I tried to gather my thoughts. My panther's pull to her was undeniable, though. Her presence tapped into something primal within me.

As I glanced at her again, our eyes locked from across the room, and my panther urged me to go to her. I had every intention of ignoring him until I could figure out why he was so drawn to her, but Brennan started walking her toward me.

"Hey, Daxton," he said, smiling. "Meet Savannah. She'll be your new client."

Savannah .

The name suited her. It was soft and delicate—beautiful—just like her.

"Hi," she said, looking up at me through thick lashes. She was about a foot shorter than me. The new knowledge had me wondering if this was why my panther felt so protective of her this morning, because she was short. "Nice to meet you, Daxton."

Why did my name coming from her lips sound so good?

"Nice to meet you, too," I said, somehow able to pull myself together long enough to speak.

"Daxton is one of our best trainers. We're lucky to have him," Brennan said. "You're in good hands with him."

He had no idea how good of hands Savannah was in with me.

She shot me another look, those beautiful blue eyes of hers drilling into mine as if she could see straight to my soul. Something passed through her stare then—was that recognition? That wasn't possible. There was no way she could know I'd saved her this morning.

"Great," she said, shifting her attention back to Brennan. "Do I set the sessions up with him personally, or is that something I do from the computer?"

"Me," I said at the same time Brennan said, "Either."

A confused look crossed Savannah's face.

"Sorry. I meant that I prefer you scheduling with me. Sometimes the computer can be glitchy." It wasn't a total lie. They had been working on the internet a lot lately.

"Oh, okay. Got it." She smiled. "When's your next opening? I work at the library, so any time after six is good for me."

I pulled out my phone to check. "I've got an opening tomorrow at seven."

"Perfect."

"Great, here's her paperwork. We've already filled out the questionnaire together. She's good to go. Her goals are to up her cardio and tone some. She used to be a runner, so, like I told her, we can get her back to running miles with ease again in no time," Brennan said, passing me her paperwork.

I glanced at it.

Savannah Breeden .

Her address told me she lived on the same road as I did, which would be why I'd heard her out on patrol this morning.

Interesting.

"Sounds good," I said, meeting her stare again.

She had the bluest eyes I'd ever seen.

My panther drew closer to the surface, intrigued by her, but I forced him back. The last thing I needed was for my eyes to change, and for her or Brennan to see.

"All right," she said. "I'll see you at seven tomorrow night, then."

I nodded. "Yup."

Someone shouted my name from behind me, and I spun around to see who it was. By the time I turned back around, Brennan had already taken Savannah back to the front. Watching her leave the gym, a mixture of anticipation and deep curiosity stirred within me.

Who was this woman, and why did my panther seem so damn drawn to her?