She knew what Xavier was going to use on her, and she did not like that. Not one bit.
Xavier paused in his advance, and that was all Leah needed. She raised her foot and kicked Jeremy on the shin with every bit of strength that was left in her body. Fortunately, the dragon was not paying attention and stumbled back when she kicked him. Leah raised her shields at that very moment, and her body once again merged with the surroundings around her.
And then she ran.
She ran as if her life depended on it, which it certainly did.
Of course, her precious professors were not inclined to let her go and chased after her. Seeing this, Leah gritted her teeth, using the last bit of calories that the sandwich had given her and called the nature around her. The trees jumped to life and created a barrier around the three men, stopping them from chasing after her.
As soon as she created the barrier, the three men raged against them.
Josh raised his fist and hammered on the trunk. He roared from behind, "You cannot escape me, Leah. you are fucking mine!"
Leah could feel her heart pinching when she heard the anger in his roar. Yes, she was supposed to be his, but she couldn't, not when things were so twisted and unwarranted.
"You are not going to hide from us. Not again!" Jeremy roared as he raised his fist and punched the barrier again. His fiery flame burned the tree trunk, and the resonance sent Leah knocking to the ground. She winced in pain but did not stop. But what horrified her was that Xavier was able to step out of the barrier as if he were ripping a piece of paper.
A shard of fear ripped through her when she saw even Josh breaking through the barrier, and Leah had no choice but to shift into her cat form. Fur exploded all over her skin, and she was now running on all fours rather than on her two. She jumped on the tree and started pouncing from one tree to another. She was certain that she was going to escape just a bit more, just a little bit more, just as the golden success of freedom was about to touch her claws, a guttural and mighty roar funnelled through the air, sending jolts of terror down her spine.
There was only one beast that could create a thunderous roar like that. She turned around, and sure enough, she saw a wildfire chasing after her. That idiot had set the entire forest on fire to trap her! Just how big was her crime that these people were going to such lengths to capture her? Leah gritted her teeth and used the last of her strength to give her some kind of spurt. She had to escape because in front of a mighty dragon, she was nothing but a kitten.
Jeremy's power hit her like a thousand-degree heatwave, and Leah could also smell the scent of burnt fur lingering in the air. Suppressing the urge to yell out loud, she tucked her tail between her legs and jumped down the tree. Her mind was now racing. Countless thoughts surged in her mind as she tried to think about what to do and how to escape from the dragon.
Jeremy must be really furious that he shifted; usually, the man kept his temper in check and even when he was about to lose his temper, he would never actually rush to shift, for he knew what kind of power his form held.
Either that or he had lost his patience with this cat-and-mouse chase.
Knowing him, it had to be the latter case.
Her little heart was pounding, and her body was aching. She could feel the energy draining right out of her body, for she knew that she had used every bit of her strength. And yet she could not stop because she had no idea where Xavier and Josh were. They might as well be waiting to catch her through another ambush.
But even if they did not ambush her, the fact that a dragon had appeared in the forest was enough of a glaring red sign. Soon, the council would be here to catch her, and if she did not create enough distance between her and them, she would be locked away in that prison for all her life. But how was she supposed to escape a dragon of all things!?
Leah mourned the loss of her safe place as she finally made the last bet that she wanted to avoid at all costs. Running toward the city where the humans lived. She could only hope that these people would not give her chase if she went to hide in the human city.
Snapping her mouth shut along with the curses and promises of bloody murder, she cleared the forest and then burst into the main street that led to the town. The road became wider and smoother, and a bunch of cars slowly appeared on the path. Leah let go of her shield because she knew that there was no point in hiding anymore; they would be able to smell her easily and there was also the fact that her little heart was beating as if she were a criminal on the run–
Obviously, she was, but well, whatever.
But before that, Leah turned and looked at the pond that was on the side of the road and ducked right into it. Her burning tail sizzled and hissed as the cool water made contact with it. Leah sucked in a breath. Cats were not a fan of water, but what could she do when her tail was on fire? She could feel her nerves turning jarring as she stayed in the water and soon paddled her way out of the pond. She rushed under a parked car and tried to catch her breath.
She could hear her beast screeching and mourning inside of her.
'I know you are upset,' she told her beast, as she knew what the poor thing was feeling at the moment. But you know we cannot get together with them… you know it won't be the right thing to do.