8. Lorenzo

EIGHT

LORENZO

I'd screwed up big time. I'd bitten Mia, giving her a panther without her consent. The weight of my decision pressed down on me, crushing me with guilt and fear. Even so, I couldn't help feeling a twisted sense of gratitude because, despite everything, she was still breathing. Her wounds from the eagle were nearly healed, leaving behind tender pink skin, thanks to the powerful change I'd forced upon her.

But it had been hours, and she hadn't woken up.

Each passing second felt like an eternity, causing the relentless, gnawing anxiety that ate at my insides to grow. I zeroed in on the sound of her heartbeat, the steady thump-thump grounding me in the chaos of my thoughts. My eyes focused on the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. It was a fragile yet undeniable sign she was still alive.

The fear of losing her had consumed me. It was what had pushed my panther to bite her, and now, the fear of what I'd done was tearing me apart.

I reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face, my fingers trembling. "Please wake up, Mia," I whispered, my voice cracking with emotion.

Even when she woke up, if she never spoke to me again—if she hated me for what I'd done—I could live with it, because giving her a panther had saved her.

It had kept her alive.

Ethan might hate me, but I could live with that, too. Deep down, I knew he felt the same—that her still breathing was all that mattered.

My panther paced relentlessly, his eagerness for her to wake mingling with my own. But when her fingers twitched and then her eyes finally fluttered open, I felt him still.

I froze, too.

"Lorenzo?" she whispered. Her voice was hoarse, but it was still the sweetest sound I'd ever heard.

"I'm here," I said, trying to hide the guilt powering through me. "How do you feel?"

She moved to sit up in bed. Her gaze drifted around my small bedroom before settling on me. "Confused," she said, lifting a hand to press against her forehead. "What happened?"

Her attention fell to her arm, as though she'd only now remembered the attack. She trailed her fingertips over the remnants of the wounds, feeling the tender pink flesh.

"You were attacked," I said. "Well, we were."

She didn't lift her gaze from her arm. Instead, she stared at the area where her panther had healed her. Mia was one of us now. Even if she didn't want to be, she was the keeper of a panther.

Not only her own, but mine as well.

During the time I'd spent hoping like hell she'd pull through the transition and survive the vicious attack by Lucius's minions, I'd come to realize the truth about why my panther felt so called to her. Why we both cared so much for this woman we barely knew.

It was because she was the one—she was our mate.

Before I could explain anything more to her, the front door of my camper swung open, and Ethan stormed in. It wasn't a surprise. He'd been here nearly every thirty minutes to check on her. Hell, for the first hour, he'd stood in the threshold of the room, watching her in silence with me.

Ethan was a good big brother.

"Mia, you're awake. Are you okay?" he asked, rushing to her side.

"I think so," she said. "I'm confused. What happened? The last thing I remember was being attacked, as crazy as it sounds, by a massive bird."

Ethan glared at me, his face drawn and tight. "You haven't explained anything to her yet?"

"She just woke up. I was giving her a moment," I insisted.

"Explained what? What's going on?" Mia demanded, her gaze boring into us both.

"I'm glad you're okay. You have no idea how worried about you I was," Ethan said to her before shifting his attention back to me. Coldness worked its way into his eyes. "You did this to her, which means you get to explain it." He exited the camper without another word.

What more was there to say, though?

I had done this to her. Hell, I'd changed her whole life.

"I'm starting to freak out a little. What's he talking about? What did you do to me?" she asked, panic ringing through her tone.

My jaw clenched, and I dropped my gaze to the floor of my camper. I couldn't look her in the eye, not while I explained things to her. If that made me a coward, so be it.

"Last night, you were attacked by an eagle," I said. "That was the massive bird you remember."

"Last night? How long have I been out?"

"Hours."

She exhaled a slow breath and pushed a few stray strands of hair away from her face. "Okay. I remember the eagle." Her gaze fell to her arm again, and her fingers trailed over the pink skin there that was still healing. "I remember the gashes. There was so much blood, but now…"

"Now there's suddenly only tender skin and faint markings," I finished for her, lifting my gaze to look at her.

"How is that possible?" she asked, her eyes seeking mine out.

I hesitated in answering her question. This was the part I dreaded most about this conversation, but it needed to be said. Mia deserved to know what I'd done.

"Because I bit you," I admitted. "I'm a panther shifter. When I bit you, I gave you a panther of your own."

She didn't speak. Instead, she stared at me. There was no expression on her face, and no light in her eyes. There was nothing.

Until she laughed.

"You're joking, right?" she asked, barely able to contain her laughter. "I know I had too much to drink last night, and that animals attacked me, but seriously—panther shifter? I mean, what even is that?"

I didn't laugh with her. Hell, I didn't even smirk. She needed to know how serious I was, that I was speaking the truth.

Mia was a panther shifter now, which meant she was vulnerable to Lucius and his ability.

Shit. I hadn't thought about that until now. The realization was enough to freeze my lungs. Not only had I altered her future, but I'd also placed her in danger.

My panther roared inside me, hating this new conclusion.

"You're not joking, are you?" she asked after another few seconds passed. The smile twisting her lips faded and her expression grew worried.

I shook my head. "I'm not."

She blinked, falling into silence once more. I let her process things, choosing to remain silent too.

"Okay," she said, moving to sit up straighter. Composure oozed from her. "You're a panther shifter, and you bit me. That's why I don't have big gashes on me from the bird attack last night."

"Correct," I said when she paused.

"So, your bite heals?"

I shook my head. "Not necessarily."

"What does it do, then?" she asked, even though I could tell from her tone she already knew the answer.

"Like I said, I gave you a panther of your own."

Again, she looked at me with a blank look in her eyes. For a moment, I thought she might laugh maniacally at me again, but she didn't.

Instead, she did nothing at all.

"Are you okay?" I asked, fighting the urge to reach out and comfort her. "I'm sorry. I know it wasn't right of me to do something so permanent to you, to change your life in such a massive way without asking if it was what you wanted first. Guilt has been eating at me, but I didn't know what else to do, Mia. Your injuries were too severe. You wouldn't have made it otherwise. I did the only thing I could to help you—to save you. I gave you a panther."

"I can feel her," she whispered, lifting a hand to press against the center of her chest. "I've felt her since I woke. I guess I just didn't know what it was. Now that I know, I can tell she's grateful for what you did—for saving me."

A tiny tendril of relief floated through me, offering a fleeting respite from the suffocating weight of guilt that had been pressing down on me since the moment I'd bitten her. But it was short-lived. I wasn't seeking forgiveness from her panther. It was Mia's forgiveness I craved.

That's what I wanted most.

"And what about you?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, hoping she could see the magnitude of my regret.

Her eyes locked with mine. "I'm grateful, too. Thank you for saving me."

A weight lifted off me, and for the first time since yesterday, I felt as though I could breathe again.

"I'm glad you're not upset with me," I said, the words feeling hollow and inadequate as they left my lips.

"Even if I was upset with you about it, I don't think I would be for long. For some odd reason, this feels right—having a panther," she said, her words surprising me. "I can't explain it, but it feels meant to be, like she's a part of me that was always supposed to be there."

There were no words to describe how hearing her say that made me and my panther feel.

But before I could open my mouth to try to put words to how I felt, Ethan barged into my camper again. He didn't look at me, but instead fixed his attention directly on Mia.

"Jesus, don't you ever knock?" I grumbled, sick of his incessant presence.

All I wanted was to talk to Mia about everything, to be alone with her for a while. Yet, here was her brother, constantly interrupting. While I'd understood his desire to make sure she was okay while she'd been unconscious, I didn't think he needed to continue barging in uninvited now that she was awake.

It grated on mine and my panther's nerves.

"I shouldn't have to. That's my sister sitting there," Ethan insisted, a low growl releasing in my direction.

His bear was close to the surface, and my panther didn't appreciate it. Not while he was inside our space—our sanctuary.

I stood to my full height, my muscles coiled with tension as I stared him in the eye. "Who happens to be my mate."

Ethan balked at my statement. "What? Mate? You can't be serious. Just because you bit her and forced a panther on her doesn't mean she's yours."

"You know as well as I do that's not how it works," I said, folding my arms over my chest, my gaze never wavering from his. "My panther chose her. He won't choose another."

Ethan stepped to me, which wasn't hard to do considering the small size of my camper, but still, I knew what he was hinting at and I didn't back down.

Not until a hand slid between us.

Mia had gotten out of bed and made her way to us. She pressed one hand against each of our chests and shoved us apart.

"I have no clue what you guys are going on about, but you need to stop," she ordered. "Yes, Lorenzo gave me a panther. He did it to save me, Ethan. Did you see the gaping wounds I had?" she asked her brother, her eyes blazing with her panther.

She'd been stunning before, but now she was a freaking goddess.

"I did," Ethan replied.

He took a step back, his anger diffusing.

Mia dropped her hands to her sides. She exhaled a breath, but she didn't look away from him.

"Then you know how bad off I was," she continued. "If anything, you should be thanking Lorenzo for what he did. He saved my life, Ethan, and—wait, what's that smell? Why do you smell like fur?" She inhaled deeply, and then wrinkled her nose.

At first, I thought she was smelling skunk stench on me, but I knew that couldn't be what she was talking about. Kiera had created a concoction that got rid of it for me. The woman had banished the stench, not only from me, but from the area, too.

She was a force to be reckoned with.

But when she said she smelled fur on Ethan, all I could do was laugh. I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help myself. It was a deep belly laugh that was uncontrollable and bordering on the edge of hysterical.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, rounding on me.

"I think you and your brother have a few things to discuss," I offered, trying to control my laughter. "Why don't the two of you take a walk? I'm going to hang back and have a shot of my homemade peach moonshine. Anyone want one before you leave?" I asked, making my way to the kitchenette for the jar in the cabinet.

"I've heard all about your puke-tasting peach moonshine. I'm good. Besides, this is probably a conversation that's better to have sober," Ethan said.

I felt bad for the guy.

Mainly, because I knew his story. Well, I knew what little Miranda had shared with us about him. He hadn't been turned into a bear shifter out of love. He wasn't born one, either.

Instead, he'd been randomly attacked and bitten.

I couldn't imagine the pain he must have felt as the transformation took hold. The way his veins must have felt like fire flowed through them. I'd heard horror stories about what it felt like to be bitten out of hate, but thankfully that hadn't been my story. I was born a panther shifter. It wasn't Mia's story, either.

I'd bitten her out of love.

"No moonshine for me either," Mia said. "I had enough alcohol last night."

"Suit yourselves." I reached for a shot glass.

"Ready for a walk," Ethan said. "We do need to talk about something."

"Okay." Mia made her way to the door. "I was going to ask if you were a panther shifter too, but that doesn't seem right. There's something different about you."

I chuckled to myself as I poured my shot. Yeah, those two had a lot of catching up to do.