Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

can’t afford the loss of any more of our women.”

    The third voice was lower, a growl of sheer power, stunning in the absolute authority it carried. “What did you say, Brad?” The voice conveyed a distinct threat, as if the very idea of any of his subjects having a thought of his own in some way made him a traitor.

    “He needs a doctor, Brodrick,” the first voice hastily intervened.

    Dominic watched as a large man dressed in loose jeans and an open shirt emerged from the house. His hair was long, shaggy and very thick. Dominic knew instantly he was looking at Brodrick, the ruler of the jaguar-men. His prince had decreed the Carpathians should leave the species to its own fate, otherwise Dominic would have been tempted to kill the man where he stood. Brodrick was directly responsible for the deaths of countless men, women and children. He was consumed with evil, drunk on his own power and the belief that he was superior to all others.

    Brodrick looked at the two guards contemptuously. “What the hell are you doing hanging out in the doorway? You’re supposed to be doing a job.”

    The second guard kept his gun pointed in Brodrick’s direction even as the two human men moved in opposite circles, the one who’d been sheltering in the doorway limping badly, confirming Dominic’s belief that he’d been wounded. Brodrick scowled up at the rain, allowing it to pour onto his face. He spat in disgust and stalked around to the side of the building where the fire had been. Crouching, he searched the ground. He was thorough about it, leaning down to sniff, using all senses to pick up the trail of his enemy.

    Suddenly he sat back on his heels, stiffening. “Kevin, get out here,” he called.

    The jaguar-man who had carried the wounded one hurried out, barefoot, but in jeans and pulling on a T-shirt that strained across his chest. “What is it?”

    “Did you get a good look at whoever broke in and freed Annabelle?”

    Kevin shook his head. “He’s a hell of a shot. He took out two guards, the bullets so close together everyone thought only one shot had been fired.”

    “There aren’t any tracks. None. Where the hell was he? And how did he know the precise place to blow the building to free Annabelle? There were no windows.”

    Kevin glanced in the direction of the guards. “You think someone helped him?”

    “What happened out there?” Brodrick gestured toward the forest.

    Kevin shrugged. “We went after Annabelle. She ran through the forest toward the river. We thought maybe it was her man, the human she spoke of, coming to try to save her. We didn’t need weapons to fight him, so we both shifted. We’d be faster traveling through the forest than Annabelle, even if she shifted.”

    It had been logical thinking, Dominic conceded from his lofty perch above them, but they’d lost the woman.

    Brodrick shook his head. “How did Brad get shot? And where’s Tonio?”

    Kevin sighed. “We found his body just on the other side of the caves. He’d tangled with another cat. Brad was kneeling beside him, and the next thing I knew, he was on the ground and we were pinned down. I had no weapon and I shifted to try to circle around and find the shooter, but I couldn’t find any tracks.”

    Brodrick swore. “It’s her. She did this. I know it was her. That’s why you didn’t find any tracks. She took to the trees.”

    Neither said who she was. Dominic wanted to know who the mysterious woman they obviously hated—and feared—could be. Someone he wouldn’t mind meeting. Four of the five De La Cruz brothers had lifemates.
    Could the elusive woman be one of their lifemates? It was possible, but he doubted it. The De La Cruz brothers would not want their women in battle. They were men with fiercely protective natures, and coming to this part of the world had only increased their dominant tendencies. They had eight countries to patrol, and the Malinov brothers would know how impossible it was to cover every inch of the rain forest. They would never, under any circumstances, send their women out alone. No, this had to be someone else.

    The eagle spread its massive wings and took to the air. The sun was beginning to fade, making him a little more comfortable, but the whisper of the parasites grew louder, tempting, pushing his hunger to a ravenous level, until he could barely think straight. It was only the bird’s form that kept his sanity as he tried to adjust to the rising level of torment.