Chapter 9

“What are you doing?” Blake asked her as they followed behind the group. 

She rolled her eyes at him.  “I’m doing what I have to do.”

“What is that?”

“Shut up,” she snapped.  Why had she thought that they would be able to get along?  At first, she had thought that their little heart to heart would let the two of them get along better, but now, she knew that it wouldn’t happen.  For some reason, he annoyed the hell out of her all of the sudden.

Kris looked back at them with a large smile.  “Not getting along?”

Fury at the woman echoed through her, but it immediately focused on Blake.  If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t be here now.  If he hadn’t kidnapped her, she would be back at home, enjoying life.  A hand grabbed hers.  Looking over, golden eyes stared at her in concern.

“What is wrong with you?” Isaac whispered.

She pulled her hand from him.  “Nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong with me.”

“Sydney,” Blake started, "something is wrong, I can feel it.”

“Nothing is wrong with me!” she shouted, causing the people around her to stare.

Isaac tried grabbing her, but she deflected his grasp.  What she was not expecting was Blake to be faster than they all were.  Holding her from behind, he began to take steps back.

“Go ahead, Isaac,” Blake said.  “We will meet you in a minute.  I think Sydney and I need to have a little talk.”

The lion shifter hesitated before nodding.  “Take care of her.”

“Always,” Blake said to Isaac’s back as the other man caught up with the group.

The further away the group got, the calmer Sydney became.  Soon, she melted back into Blake.  “What was that?”

“Magic,” Blake barely whispered.

She attempted to pull away from him, but he kept her still.  “I need to talk to you, but I don’t want them reading my lips.”

His warm breath tickled her ear.  “And you have to be this close?”

“Get over yourself,” Blake mumbled.  “We may have begun to get along, but we both know that there is nothing there.”

She nodded, but as she did, she had to wonder if that was completely true.  She had thought that her and Blake weren’t meant for one another, but what if they were?  He was always there for her.  He always knew exactly what she needed.  Wasn’t that a start of a relationship?  Or was that the start of a friendship?  Her thoughts twirled in her mind, not settling anywhere.  She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to react.

“Sydney,” Blake snapped.

Shaking her head, she cleared her mind.  “Yeah?”

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

“Sorry,” she mumbled.  “I was just thinking.”

He let out a sigh that ruffled her hair.  “I said I think that one of them is using a power to control your emotions.  Is that possible?”

“Very,” she hissed while narrowing her eyes on the back of the culprits head.  “I think I may have to have a talk with one of their members.”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Me?” she asked as his arms slid away from her.  “I would never do anything stupid.  Would I do something that was a little harsh?  Yes.”

“Sydney,” Blake called out with a warning tone. 

She didn’t stop as she stalked towards the white haired woman.  Now that she knew what was going on, she could block the magic from affecting her, but no one messed with her.  If the little snow leopard thought that she could screw with Sydney’s mind and get away with it, she had another thing coming. 

The small crowd parted, as if they knew exactly where she was going.  Finally, she reached Kris.  Reaching out, she grabbed the woman’s shoulder and turned her.  “Why?”

Kris shrugged.  “I don’t think I like you.”

“I don’t like you either,” Sydney admitted before throwing back her arm.  Swinging at the Kris, Sydney’s fist connected with her jaw.

The woman’s head snapped back under the force.  Sydney braced herself, ready for a fight, but to her surprise, Kris just stared at her.  “That isn’t how we do things here.”

“Then how?”

“In a ring, in our animal forms, and until someone submits,” Kris answered with a careless shrug.  “We usually fight to the death, but I don’t want to start a war.”

“You honestly think that you will win?” Sydney said with a laugh.  “Think again, because I don’t care who you are related to.  Once I get in that ring, I’m not holding back.”

Kris shook her head.  “I thought that they sent you here for a reason.”

“Yeah, but not because I needed to learn to fight,” Sydney said while letting a cold smile cross her face. 

Kris’s eyes widened slightly, but no other reactions showed on her face.  Ah, so the woman thought Sydney couldn’t fight.  Her smile grew.  She was about to show them that they were wrong about her, very wrong.