19. Freesia #2
They fought as extensions of each other, their movements choreographed by the mate bond that made them more formidable together than they could ever be apart.
When Freesia engaged two jaguars simultaneously, Izei was there to eliminate the one trying to flank her.
When a particularly large jaguar managed to rake claws across Izei's shoulder, Freesia's tigress was already launching herself at the attacker's throat.
Five down, Izei noted with grim satisfaction as they carved their way through Cassian's forces toward the estate's front entrance. The others are holding their own.
Freesia spared a glance toward the main battle and felt fierce pride surge through her at the sight of her surviving Waverly tigers fighting alongside Izei's panthers with the unity she'd dreamed of building.
They moved as one force, protecting each other regardless of species, proving that her vision of a united pride could become reality.
Then she finally turned toward the open front doors of Cassian's estate and her tigress form bounded up the marble steps with Izei's panther beside her, their shared purpose driving them forward through the entrance into the enemy's lair.
The main corridor stretched before them like a gauntlet, lit by crystal chandeliers that cast dancing shadows on walls lined with portraits of Vael family history.
But Freesia's attention fixed immediately on the two figures waiting at the corridor's far end, as if they'd been expecting this moment for months.
Cassian Vael stood with the casual confidence of a man who believed he'd already won, his olive skin unmarked by battle and his green eyes glittering with satisfied malice.
Beside him, Mareth Voss maintained her practiced composure despite the sounds of violence echoing from outside, her blue eyes—so like Freesia's own—reflecting nothing but cold calculation.
"You two fell so perfectly into my trap," Cassian said, his voice carrying that same measured charm that had fooled so many for so long.
A slow smile spread across his features as he studied Izei's panther and Freesia's tigress with obvious appreciation.
"Thinking you were coming here to take me out and catch me off guard.
I knew after that phone call yesterday that Izei had already found you and was protecting you. "
His gaze lingered on their synchronized stance and the way they positioned themselves to protect each other's flanks. "But I give you two credit for becoming such a powerful duo in such a short time. This will be even sweeter—killing you both at once. Makes my victory almost poetic."
Mareth's laughter rang through the corridor, sharp and bitter with years of accumulated resentment.
"I may have helped Cassian orchestrate the attack on our territory because I was upset at being rejected," she said, her voice carrying none of the warmth Freesia remembered from their childhood.
"But that rejection was actually a blessing in disguise. "
Her blue eyes blazed with fanatic conviction as she stepped closer to Cassian, their alliance written in every gesture.
"It brought me and Cassian together." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "And our vision of dominance and ruling over all the big cats is much better than being some pathetic Keeper of the Waverly Compact—a Compact that should have never existed in the first place."
Enough, Freesia's tigress snarled, every word from Mareth's mouth stoking the fire of rage that had been building for three months. I'm done listening to this traitor justify murdering my family and people.
The careful control she'd maintained throughout their conversation finally shattered. Her tigress's primal instincts surged, drowning out rational thought beneath waves of grief-fueled fury and the desperate need for justice.
Mother. Father. Sasha. They died because of this woman's jealousy and wounded pride.
With a roar that shook the crystal chandeliers, Freesia's tigress launched herself down the corridor toward Mareth, her powerful muscles propelling her forward with lethal intent.
Mareth's eyes widened with shock before her own transformation began, bones cracking and reshaping as golden-orange fur erupted across her skin.
Her tigress form materialized just in time to dodge Freesia's initial strike, rolling sideways as massive jaws snapped shut where her throat had been moments before.
She's fast, Freesia acknowledged grimly as Mareth's tigress regained her footing. But speed won't save her from what she's owed.
Beside her, she sensed rather than saw Cassian's own shift beginning, his human form dissolving into his enormous jaguar. Izei's panther met the transformation with his own deadly charge, their bodies colliding in a tangle of midnight-black and golden fur.
Handle Cassian, Freesia commanded through their link, her attention narrowing to the tigress circling her with calculation. Mareth is mine.
The two tigresses faced each other in the ornate corridor like mirror images twisted by betrayal and loss.
Both carried the distinctive markings of Waverly bloodline, both had received the same royal combat training, both possessed the deadly grace of apex predators.
But only one fought for love. Only one carried the strength that came from protecting something greater than personal ambition.