A Jaguar's Kiss (9 page)

“You either want my help or you don’t, but you might want

to cal your pack and let them know I’l be out there tracking

and not to go after the black female jag.”

He immediately flipped open his phone. When he did,

she shifted forms effortlessly and took off. She knew it

would annoy him and inwardly cringed when she heard

curses behind her, but she didn’t pause. If she was going to

track this guy, she had a lot of ground to cover.

In her jaguar form she was incredibly powerful but she

wasn’t built for long distances. She could be very fast when

she wanted but it was always in short bursts of speed. She

wasn’t sure how long it took her to get to the abandoned

mine but by the time she did, she could feel the strain in her

legs. Adrenaline stil punched through her as she slowed

and began circling the old mine shaft. Careful of any places

that might cave in, she inhaled the various scents.

Long ago she’d learned to decipher them. It was just part

of her animal instinct, like breathing, and something she

could never explain to a human. It was also one of the

reasons she’d been chosen to work down in South and

Central America. As a jaguar she was able to blend into the

jungle and get close to many of the drug operations and

homes owned by drug lords. She’d been like an invisible

agent.

Pul ing in a deep breath, she narrowed in on the

distinctive feline scent lingering in the air. There were a few

deer, an elk and other smal er forest creatures that had

passed through the area recently, but the feline scent was

the easiest to discern.

Turning north and in the opposite direction of where

Owen’s pack made their home, she kept a steady pace.

Wanting to retain some of her energy, she kept to a lope

this time. The farther north she ran, the stronger the scent

grew.

Owen had to be pretty close behind her by now. She’d

tapped into energy reserves during her first sprint and knew

she’d outpaced him by a fairly great distance. But wolves

were fast, too, and these were his woods. He’d be caught

up soon enough. She just hoped she found this jaguar first

because he was going to pay.

About two miles into her trek, she slowed and took to the

trees. There were clusters of very old white-bark pines—so

they were big enough to support her feline body—and she

used the branches as springboards to jump from tree to

tree until the sound of male voices made her slow even

more.

Crouching on an elongated branch, she used the leaves

and branches as camouflage and crept closer to the edge

until she had a perfect shot of a naked man—she guessed

the jaguar in human form—talking to what appeared to be

two male vampires. Or she guessed they were vamps.

Their skin was pale and there was something about their

scent that always gave vampires away. It was like an inborn

thing. Vampires and shifters were natural-born enemies so

they just sensed predators.

Unfortunately it meant they might be able to sense her but

with the other jaguar’s scent covering the area and

because she was downwind, she figured she’d be able to

blend in for the moment.

“I’m tired of waiting for them to kil each other off,” one of

the vampires said. He wore a long, black trench coat that

felt so clichéd for his kind, she would have rol ed her eyes

had she been in human form.

“We need to be patient,” the other vamp said. This one

wore a bomber jacket.

The naked man with bronze skin and dark hair shrugged,

completely unconcerned about his nudity or the cold in the

air. Yeah, definitely a jaguar. No human could stand this

weather naked. “As long as you keep paying me, I don’t

care what you want me to do. I spotted a wolf cub earlier,

but the little thing disappeared before I could kil it.”

Kill a cub?
Gabriela’s claws automatical y unsheathed,

slicing into the branch. Thankful y they didn’t hear her.

“What took you so long getting here?” bomber jacket

asked.

The naked man shrugged. “I took a long detour, wanted

to make sure I hadn’t been seen or fol owed. I’l go back to

that location tomorrow, see if I spot another cub.”

Trench coat nodded. “It wil incite the wolves into kil ing

the jaguars. And while their attention is on them, we wil

start picking off the wolves.”

Pausing, the naked man glanced around, his gaze

skirting right over her hiding place in the trees before he

focused on the vamps. For a moment she worried he’d

seen or scented her, but he continued speaking. “If that

abandoned mine is as rich as you say, I stil get my cut.”

The vampires exchanged an annoyed look, then bomber

jacket nodded. “Five percent of al our findings.”

This was about money? Gabriela wasn’t even that

surprised. Some people were just greedy and vampires

who had been that way as humans were often worse when

they became members of the undead. Clearly the jaguar

shifter was just as greedy. He definitely wasn’t from this

area and she guessed he was likely a loner the vamps had

recruited from God only knew where considering the shifter

was actual y working with them. As a cub Gabriela had

played in the old mine and she and Owen had found plenty

of gold nuggets and layers of gold dust, but no one messed

with that thing anymore. It was too dangerous.

Slowly, she crept backward, careful of her steps, but

when the wind suddenly shifted, the jaguar sniffed and

looked in her general direction.
Well, crap.

He broke away from the two vampires who were stil

standing there. She guessed they couldn’t pick out her

scent from the male’s because they looked confused.

When bomber jacket asked the jaguar what he was doing,

the male just growled a nonresponse and continued

walking in her direction.

She might not have been able to take him in her human

form but as a jaguar, she could fight. And she planned to do

just that. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide much longer,

she stopped backtracking and raced along the branch.

When she reached the end, she pushed down and jumped

off, flying right for the jaguar.

His dark eyes widened for a fraction of a second before

he underwent the change. As she torpedoed straight

toward him, his animal took over. Thanks to her momentum

she slammed into him, taking him to the ground.

In his shifted form, he was bigger than she’d expected,

outweighing her by about fifty pounds. His weight slowed

him down, but it wouldn’t diminish his strength. Slashing

out, she dragged her claws against his face. This piece of

crap had talked about kil ing an innocent cub like it was no

big deal. Gabriela felt no guilt for attacking him.

The male snarled and slashed right back. She dodged,

rol ing off him and onto the dried grass and snow, but his

claws raked across her shoulder. She let out a hiss, but

jumped to her feet and attacked again. They rol ed on the

ground, slashing and clawing, each trying to get a grip with

their mouth. Jaguars had one of the most powerful jaws in

the world and as shifters, they were even that much

stronger.

Out of her peripheral vision she could see the vampires

trying to intercept, but it was impossible given the way she

and the male were rol ing around.

When she heard an eerie howl fil the air, she knew Owen

had arrived. She also knew he was going to be pissed at

her so she real y hoped he took it out on the vampires.

She’d seen Owen hunting before and had seen his power

and strength when he was only seventeen. She could only

imagine how strong he was now.

The wind rustled her fur as a blur of white tore past her.

As she dodged another slash from the jaguar, she was

vaguely aware of one of the vampires crying out in pain. In

her peripheral vision she saw the vamp fal and then

watched a gush of crimson pour out as Owen took its head

off. The other vampire started to run, but Gabriela felt a

sharp stab of pain in her gut and turned al her focus on the

jaguar.

Realizing the male had slashed right through her

stomach in an effort to distract her with pain, she did what

he wouldn’t expect. Instead of pul ing back from him and

putting herself at an even bigger disadvantage, she lunged

closer, letting his claws dig deeper into her bel y as she

snapped his neck with her powerful jaws.

Her teeth sliced through bone and tendons until his

bloody head rol ed from his body. Her jaguar silently

shouted in victory even as her body screamed in agony.

While she didn’t enjoy taking a life, she’d done it before in

the line of duty and this guy deserved it after the innocent

humans he’d kil ed and for the innocent lives he’d stil

planned to take. And al for money.
Disgusting.

Rol ing off him, unbearable pain lanced through her. She

stumbled and fel face-first onto the icy ground. She tried to

get up, but could only emit a soft whimper as her limbs

gave out. It felt as if giant daggers sliced through her

middle, but she was lucid enough to realize Owen was

shouting something at her.

He was in human form, naked as he knelt next to her. His

words were jumbled as he continued shouting, his voice

frantic. She tried to make out what he was saying, but it

was too much. The darkness beckoned. More exhausted

was too much. The darkness beckoned. More exhausted

than she’d ever been, she let the black wave overtake her.

With his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed,

Owen stood by the door of Dr. Shahi’s operating room

where Gabriela was inside. The scent of her blood tickled

his nostrils, making him nauseous. He stil couldn’t get the

sight of her ripped-open stomach out of his head. Didn’t

think he ever would as long as he lived.

There was a slight sound of movement to his right in the

waiting room but he kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see

anyone. Gabriela’s parents, brothers and Skyler were on

the right side and six members of his pack were on the left.

Right now al he cared about was Gabriela.

If she didn’t make it…he swal owed hard, shutting down

that thought before it could take root. She
would
make it.

Thankful y one of those vamps had had a cel phone and

he’d been able to cal his brother for help. Owen had shifted

to his human form and carried Gabriela nearly a mile. There

had been so much blood he could stil feel it on his hands

even after he’d rinsed it off.

His brother and two pack mates had met them along a

dirt road near where they’d kil ed the vamps and that jaguar

and rushed Gabriela to Dr. Shahi’s. The vamps had turned

to ash once he’d decapitated them, but the jaguar could rot

for al he cared.

At the sound of the door opening, he turned and found

himself inches from Dr. Shahi. Her dark eyes were fil ed

with warmth and reassurance. She gave him a brief, smal

smile. The surge of relief made him lightheaded. If the

doctor could smile at him like that, then Gabriela must be

okay. “There was extensive internal damage, but Gabriela

is healing nicely and quickly. As long as she stays in her

jaguar form for the next day, she wil be fine. Technical y she

should be fine within twelve hours, but I’ve sedated her and

would like her to get as much rest as possible.”

Owen could hear Gabriela’s parents talking and asking

questions behind him, but he nodded once at the doctor

and murmured a “thank you” before hurrying into the room.

The civilized part of his brain told him to let her parents in

first, but he couldn’t stay away from her.

Stretched out on the long, rectangular metal table, he

could see the stitches along her shaved bel y. It was a much

better sight than when he’d found her. Her dark coat of fur

was shiny and he could see the slight rise and fal of her

ribs each time she breathed. Bloody towels and bandages

had been stuffed into a bin, but her body had been cleaned

of it. He shook his head, trying to banish the images of

Gabriela’s sliced-up body but couldn’t. His throat tightened

as he grabbed a metal swivel stool and pul ed it up to the

table. Even though she was unconscious and in her jaguar