Mated to the Leopard Queen

Chapter nine

Samantha 

I know I normally stay with her while she's sleeping, but I want to go with the others back to their community. I want to go find her family home and bring something back of her parents. I only hope I get back before she wakes up.

I brought Kelly to Anna's mother and asked her to check on Kennedy while I was gone. Anna told me I should stay, but I had to do this for her. I had to bring back something for her. 

When we made it to their community a little over a half hour later I started searching for her childhood home. Some of the others gave me directions and when I found it, I couldn't believe my eyes. The house was burned down to the foundation. There was nothing, but a pile of charred rubble. 

I sifted through the remains of the house for what felt like hours and was about to give up when something caught my eye. I squat down, picking up the burnt frame and took of the back. Inside was a photo, burned at the edges, but otherwise intact. There was no mistake that the people in this photo were Kennedy and her parents. 

The older woman in the photo was a spitting image of Kennedy she had waist length curly, black hair and the same icy blue eyes. Young Kennedy looked so happy in this photo and I wanted to see the light shine in her eyes again, like they do in this photo. 

*Miranda*

"I wish we could have found more, but this will do I'm sure."

Anna finds me in what was left of Kennedy's house and her eyes filled with tears. "They did the same to Kelly's house," she chokes quietly and hands me a photo of Kelly and her family. "Her mother was pregnant too."

"It's a good thing she's already dead," I say in anger. "Are they ready to head back? I need to get back before she wakes up."

"They're waiting for you," she says quietly and I nod. 

We head back to our community as the night started to roll in. One of the younger children stumble into me and I carry her back. Her mother looks at me grateful and I nod. 

When we reached the treeline of our community, I could feel Kennedy was awake and very upset. I hand the sleeping child to her mother and ran into the main house. I followed the pull of the bond to our room and heard the shower running. I enter the bathroom and she was rocking herself on the floor of the shower.

The ice cold water told me she was in here almost as long as I was gone. Anna was right, I shouldn't have left. I should have made them wait another day. I reach in and lift her from the cold shower floor and help her dry off. Our eyes meet for a moment and she averts my eyes, walks away. 

I wait for her on the bed to brush her hair like I have been. She exits the closet wearing clothes my mother gave her. It hurt seeing her in anything else but my clothes. She walks by me and out of the room. 

I get up to follow her and she just kept walking. I watch as Clarissa grabs her hand and whirls around in half leopard form. She lets out a roar and Clarissa backs away, scared. She continues outside and my mother looks at me with concern. I shrug my shoulders as tears fill my eyes. 

She goes after Kennedy and Clarissa looks at me with concern about Kennedy. "We should have waited for tomorrow," I choke quietly and go in the direction my mother and Kennedy went. 

The others followed after me and we came across Kennedy holding onto my mother. She was sobbing about being left alone. "I'm sorry," I choke from behind her. "I didn't expect to be gone this long. We all went to retrieve some of the other's things and I went looking for your parents house. I wanted to surprise you with some of your mother's things."