This is actually two stories "The
Awakening" and "Wild Rain". In these stories the author has created an
exotic world set deep in the jungle where the endangered
Leopard People live. These people have the ability to shapeshift into leopards and are the guardians of the jungle. They were once a prosperous race but now due to hunters and the loss of terrority, they are sparse in numbers.
Male Leopards have the ability to shift from an early age, while female leopards if raised outside the tribe are often completely unware of their abilities until they began the change, when they are in their early twenties, which can be a terrifying and traumatic experience. Leopards mate for life and so until the male leopard finds his mate, he is cursed to walk alone in the forest, but once found, he is hers forever.
"The Awakening" follows the story of a
beautiful naturalist who goes on a trip to Borneo to learn more about
her mysterious past and there discovers an unexpected heritage.
"Wild Rain" is about a girl on the run
from a faceless assassin, thousands of miles from home, lost in the
jungle. There she finds an unlikely ally in the fierce Rio and
together they face the demons of her past and claim a new life.
These two action packed, evocative and
sensual stories leave you with your heart racing and an overwhelming
desire, to not only experience the rainforest in all its beauty but
to also protect it and all the wild creatures that dwell there.