The Renegade Panther - Chapter 1
By Natalia_Dante 22 Comments
New Orleans - Approximately 4 ½ Years Ago (Age 17, almost 18)
Night had fallen upon the French Quarter, and brought with it a heady dose of sin. In a city known for its debauchery, mayhem could run rampant. But New Orleans was known for many things aside from its accelerated levels of drunken revelry.
New Orleans was the mystical hotspot of North America, feeding off of the rich culture that surrounded it, and the large amounts of myth, legend, folklore and superstitious fiction.
Natala Dante was part of that culture.
She was one of the Panthera, an ancient group of shifters that dated back further than recorded history. Over the recent centuries they had drifted into mythical legend. Humans had forgotten about them, and the supernatural community itself was not even sure if they were a mythical rumor or an actual reality.
They were an organized group, or as organized as a group with such strong animal instincts could be.
Talia had the misfortune of being the granddaughter of a council member. It was a position that, should an early death come for the unnaturally long-lived species, Natalia would one day be expected to fill. It wasn’t anything she had ever wanted. God, all she wanted was to run wild and free. For a group that was so tied to their animal sides simply by their very nature, the wild Dante daughter was particularly so.
She shoved her hands in the pockets of her supple leather jacket as the soles of her boots strode silently across the bustling street of the French Quarter, coming closer and closer to the fringes. She couldn’t help but let her mind drift as the unmistakable smell of beer and fried dough caught the attention of her heightened olfactory senses.
The scents drifted away as Natalia headed further and further from the hustle and hubbub of the overly large packed crowds out and about cavorting on the streets of the ever-lively French Quarter.
She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and simply savoring the moment. This was home, the only place she’d ever loved, the only place wild enough to suit her nature.
Pushing the natural waves of rich chocolate brown hair off of her face, Natalia ducked down an alleyway that she had frequented many a night. But this night it wasn’t empty, a fact that she noticed far too late.
Natalia knew that if somebody had managed to move silently enough to evade her hearing, they’d have to be some form of supernatural.
Her suspicions were confirmed as gunmetal grey eyes landed on the silhouetted figure of Christopher LeFleur.
He was a year older, and straight laced on the surface. By the rules, always obeying the edicts of the Council. His father was a seated member, and had been for quite some time.
There had always been something about him that threw Natalia off, some vibe that emanated from him that warned her away. But what he did next, that she had never believed him capable of.
With the preternatural speed of the Panthera, he launched himself from the shadows. Enclosing a hand around Natalia’s delicate throat, he shoved her against the stone wall of one of the buildings that formed the alley.
She felt her back hit it, the black leather of her jacket doing just enough to protect her, even as the back of her skull cracked against it.
It raised her ire as flecks of yellow bled into her irises, heralding a shift into the more feral and animalistic instincts of her dual nature.
His strong grip was closing around her windpipe in an attempt to cut her air off. She couldn’t help but wonder, even as her vision was fuzzing, why he wasn’t going for more lethal moves straight out of the gate. But that thought was simply a passion notion, as her instinct to fight, her instinct to live, kicked in.
Using her naturally elevated senses and physical attributes, Natalia quickly turned the tides on the murderous Panthera.
She managed to get him on the ground, momentarily pinning his arms to the pavement with her knees, utilizing force to keep him pinned down, digging slightly lengthened claws into him.
“You’re a Seeker, Chris, what the hell are you doing?” Her hair fell into her face, only to be thrown back with an irritable toss of her head, the currently raven black locks falling behind her. He was a Seeker, had been since he turned eighteen nine years ago. Seekers were the most esteemed of the specialized Panthera behind only the Sentinels. It was their duty to hunt down the unlawful Rogues - those who had refused to swear their loyalty to the Council and the Panthera’s laws, and the Slayers - the most reviled of the Panthera; those who had given in to their most base instincts and allowed the animal inside them to take over. The Slayers were the most feral of creatures, and it often took multiple Seekers to bring them down.
He had no business attacking her. Talia may not have ever trusted him, but she had trusted his resolve to keep the Panthera safe. This simply didn’t make sense.
His lips pulled back to bare elongated canines as his own eyes started sliding from brown to a truly stunning chartreuse. “This is a precaution, Natalia. One that you need not concern yourself with the finer details of.”
Chris opted not to expend further energy and instead of attempting to flip positions and regain the upper hand, he slipped his claws. Fingernails lengthened as he completed a partial shift, something that very few of the Panthera were capable of. With precise and blisteringly quick movements, he reached out, dragging the claws across Natalia’s ribs before removing them and aiming a curved hand directly at her heart.
Between his supernatural strength and the unique qualities of Panthera claws, the rogue Seeker would have had enough momentum to crack through to her heart, and remove it from her chest. It was one of the few ways to mortally wound a Panthera, and it would end her life if he was successful.
Due to preternaturally quick instincts, he was not. The tips of his claws grazed her, leaving deep scratches along her ribcage, but before he had the chance to land his killing blow, Natalia had her hands on his shoulders.
Digging in, she shook him, banging his head against the pavement of the alleyway until she heard a sickening crunch.
A pool of deep red blood immediately began spilling out around them, filling in the cracks of the decrepit alleyway.
Her hands trembled as she stood, her legs shaking beneath her.
What had she done?
She was the wild one, the one the Council had never been able to get to adhere to their stringent rules. On multiple occasions her grandmother had softened the blows she would have received from them.
But she had just killed a Panthera. In self defense, but without being sanctioned to do so. It was a grave matter, for a Panthera to die or be killed without the Council signing off on it.
“Oh god…” Would they believe her? The thought chilled her as her eyes went fully yellow in instinctual fear. Nadya Thibodeaux was in the minority of those who stood in favor of Natalia.
She backed slowly away from the body, eyes darting around like a panicked animal.
Nobody had seen her, nobody had heard them. She was clear on that account. But this needed to be reported, as soon as humanly possible. She knew that if she attempted to cover up what had happened here in any matter it would blow back on her.
Her hands shook as she reached into the pocket of her jacket for her phone, which had survived the scuffle unharmed. It took her three tries to unlock it, her unsteady fingers making it almost impossible to work the device.
Warm blood seeped down her ribs as she heard the voice on the other end, and almost wept with relief. “Rafa…” She swallowed, needing to hear his voice. He was the only one she’d ever had the courage to open her heart for, and had accidentally given away very large pieces of it to him during their year-long romance. He was a genuinely good person, whereas she was not, and he was a Seeker.
But she needed him as much for his Seeker status as for the status of her lover. For once she would have welcomed emotional support and a show of tenderness, two things that went directly against her nature at all times. “I….something…I killed him.”
The fear and terror was starting to fade, or so she had tricked herself into believing. Immediate worry and tension came through the line as his melodic accent wafted through the line. “Talia,” His voice was almost a purr as he spoke, designed to calm and comfort her. “Who?”
If she had been capable of paying more attention, she would have heard the concern. The worry. The suspicion.
“LeFleur,” she answered as she leaned back against a wall of the alley opposite the body. Sliding down to the ground, she pulled her knees close to her chest, whispering into the phone, eyes wide and cold. “He tried to kill me, I just reacted.” Placing a hand against her injured side she pulled it away and stared in a dissociated manner at the blood smeared along her palm.
“Please hurry, I don’t….please, just hurry,” she asked after reciting the address.
She closed her eyes and attempted to fight out the streaks of vision that were darting before her. The possible outcomes, the many ways that this situation could go wrong for her.
Her breath fogged lightly in the night air as she held a hand against her bleeding side and awaited the arrival of Rafael.
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