Coming down from the fuck of the century wasn't easy or fast.

Xavier was shaking. Christ, shaking. And his dick was still hard. Nothing had or would ever compare to this. Mating Amalie. She was his everything now. His life, his breath, his vision, and his reason for waking up and...god help him, hitting the sheets every night. Looking at her, sitting before her, gloriously nude, her skin sweaty and pink, his mark on her hip, her sex still glistening with their shared climaxes, he wanted her again.

And again.

Shit, he didn't even want to take her back to the Wildlands, let other males see her. He knew that was an irrational thought, and he wasn't about to share it. But it was there. Oh yeah, it was there.

But he'd sensed something, his Pantera instincts overriding his post-orgasmic shakes. A male. Human. Near the bayou.

Xavier's narrowed gaze searched the green, the trees, the calm surface of the water.

"I scent him, too," Amalie said, the vigilant Hunter back in her eyes. She grabbed her clothes and yanked them on. "Maybe it's just another guest, but we need to be ready if it's not."

Xavier had his clothes on in under ten seconds, his eyes back on the cabin. "I don't see him. I don't see anyone."

"Bayou," Amalie whispered.

Xavier turned back toward the swamp. "What the hell?"

A heavy mist now coated the surface of the bayou. A low hanging cloud moving toward them. It swirled, and seemed to have an eye in the center like a tornado. Xavier slipped in front of Amalie, closer to the four foot tall and ten foot wide mass of white haze. He didn't know what was coming, but it wouldn't get near his mate.

As it touched down at the shore, and a male emerged from that 'eye' Amalie gasped under her breath, "Holy shit."

Still hidden from view within the massive tree, Xavier stared, riveted, ready to pounce. This was a human walking past them only ten or so feet away, but clearly he was so much more than that. And when the man drew closer to the cabin, and his hand reached for the screen door, Xavier knew in his gut, they not only had their camera owner, but they might very well have The Shaman, Chayton as well.

Clearly thinking the same thing, Amalie pushed past him and ran toward the cabin and the male. Cursing, Xavier burst out of the shelter of the tree and went after her. He reached her just as she cornered the male inside his screened-in porch.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

Xavier drew closer to his mate's side. "I believe this is the human we seek, Amalie." He eyed the confused and fearful older male. "Chayton, I presume?"

"Isi is in the Wildlands?" he repeated, shocked and amazed. "Oh, thank the gods."

Seated across from Chayton, who had only a short time ago emerged from the bayou like a spirit, Mal nodded. "You didn't know?"

He shook his head, his nearly black eyes softening. "I couldn't find her. I've been so worried-"

"Because she wasn't in her shop?" Mal finished. "Visible on the camera you hid?"

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes searching hers. Then he nodded, "That's right. I wanted to know she was safe, even if it wasn't safe for me to watch over her in person. She is my daughter. I love her."

"Then come back to the Wildlands and see her," Mal said quickly.

It was as if an icy wind blasted through the porch. Chayton shook his head. "Impossible."

"You don't understand how vital this is," Xavier began. He was seated beside Mal, and had his hand resting protectively on her lower back. "One of the Pantera's greatest enemies is growing in power."

A different kind of heat glinted in those dark eyes. "You speak of Shakpi."

Mal's heart stuttered. "You know?"

The male pushed his long, black braid over one tanned shoulder and nodded. "Of course I know. I have come to suspect that I am the one who accidentally opened the portal."

Mal turned to Xavier, who gave her a worried look before she turned back to Chayton. "How?"

"That doesn't matter."

"Of course it does," Mal insisted harshly. "Isi is being blamed for it. The elders claim that your vision proves-"

"That damned vision," Chayton said passionately. "It has ruined so much, so many. 'The blood of The Shaman's firstborn shall carry the taint of Shakpi, releasing her powers upon the lands of the Pantera.'" He stood and walked over to the screen that faced the bayou. With the sun's retreat, the sky was giving itself over to twilight. "It doesn't mean Isi is destined to hurt the land. The Wildlands, after all, were created by the blood of both Shakpi and Opela. The rot of the land began long before Isi's birth." He glanced over his shoulder. "If you and your kind want to blame the spread of poison, then you should point the finger at the elders who were too eager to use my powers to walk among the spirits.

Mal understood his passion, his fear. But right now, they needed his help. His daughter needed his help. "You believe it was your connection to the spirits that caused the damage?"

He sighed. "I fear that the connection unknowingly opened the portal that Shakpi is using to touch this world."

Xavier cursed, stood. "Then you have to come back and close it."

A flare of anger vibrated through Chayton, and his lean face grew tense. "No. It's too dangerous. This swamp is protected with deep magic. If I leave, they'll find me."

"Who?" both Xavier and Mal said together.

"Shakpi's followers. They'll force me to open the portal to Shakpi's prison completely."

"We won't allow them to take you," Xavier said firmly. "Come back. Let this nightmare end for us all."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry."

His resignation sent Mal into desperate mode, and she tried another tactic. "Then at least come back and see your daughters."

His face went blank. "Daughters?"

She walked over to him, put her hand on his bare arm. "Ashe is there, too, Chayton."

"What?" The word came out so softly it was a mere exhale.

"She's mated to a Pantera."

Tears pricked his dark eyes, making them glitter like polished stones. "Ashe," he uttered. "I haven't seen her since..." He shook his head, too emotional to continue.

"She's pregnant."

His eyes widened. "No."

"Yes," Xavier confirmed, moving to stand beside Mal, his hand reaching for hers. "The first cub in so many years. Our miracle."

Mal squeezed her mate's large, warm hand, but to the Shaman male, she smiled and said, "They need you, Chayton. We all need you."