Hot Blooded

was impossible to see him, even when she was looking directly at him.
    She lifted her face to the wind. She was jaguar. And her senses were enhanced
by ancient Carpathian blood. She could read the forest news. Animals were
hiding, lying low and trembling, waiting until a night bird signaled they were
once again safe from predators. Juliette turned her head this way and that, on
the alert, feeling the vibration of danger moving through the air. Something was
wrong. They were a few miles from the laboratory and several miles from her
home.
    Her heart jumped. "Jasmine." A large predator or a hunting party had passed
through the area and frightened the inhabitants. A sudden chill went down her
spine. Or a
group
of predators. She was supposed to lead the guards
from the Morrison laboratory away from the direction of her home, but Riordan
had carried her off instead. Had they found Jasmine's trail? Jasmine might not
have been as cautious as she should have, thinking Juliette would be drawing the
guards away from her. What if it was worse than the human guards? What if the
male jaguars had cut across Jasmine's trail? Solange was on a scouting mission,
hunting for any news of missing females. Jasmine had been alone.
    Juliette didn't hesitate, she turned and ran, following the small animal
trail through the brush.
I think my sister's in trouble
.
    I am feeding, near full strength. Wait for me. I will get us to her.
    She couldn't wait. She knew it didn't make sense, but she had to do
something. Adrenaline was pouring through her body. Fear took hold of her mind.
What if Jasmine had been taken the night before and the males had her already
for nearly twenty-four hours?
Please God, please God
. She chanted the
plea, her chest burning, her throat closing. The more she ran, the more she was
certain the jaguars had been on her sister's trail, tracking her.
    "Juliette," Riordan caught her in strong arms, in front of her, blocking her
way. She hit his chest hard, but his larger frame barely rocked under her
assault. "We have to be cautious. And we do not want to ruin any tracks. If they
have her, it is better to slow down and find her trail, than to go running
around without direction."
    "You don't know what they do," she hissed, pulling away from him.
    "We will find her and get her back."
    She stepped away from him and wrapped her arms around her body, hunching.
"You have no idea what she will suffer, and I can never take it back."
    He led the way, moving fluidly, so silent not even the leaves rustled.
Juliette tried to breathe, to get her brain functioning again.
I couldn't
bear it if something happened to Jasmine. It's my fault. I was supposed to draw
the guards away. I wasn't here to do it, and she probably left tracks. The males
would be able to follow her easily
.
    This is not your fault Juliette
. Riordan could smell them now. He
didn't want to tell her, but he knew as they approached the small hut covered
over with vines and creepers. The structure was difficult to see through all the
foliage. He reached for her hand. The door was splintered down the middle, one
half cracked and broken out, leaving a large hole.
    A terrible cry welled up in Juliette. She couldn't stop it, couldn't repress
it. The sound tore through her body, raw and horrible, tearing her throat. It
was an agonized cry of pain and heartache and grief. It was a cry of revenge, of
promise, a vow of absolute retribution.

----
Chapter 8
    Â« ^ »
    RIORDAN went through the door first. The stench of terror permeated the room.
The pungent odor of large cats was overpowering. A table was overturned. There
was a smear of blood on the wall and another on a broken chair.
    Juliette pressed her hand to her mouth, choking back a sob. "She's just a
child, Riordan. She's just turned twenty." She pushed past Riordan and hurried
across the room to the wall. She inhaled deeply, scenting the blood. "This isn't
from Jasmine. It's Solange. She was here."
    Riordan was examining the room and the forest floor just outside. "She came
when they were taking Jasmine and she must have shifted on the run. Can she do
that? See, here are her footprints, and here are ripped clothes and claw marks.
She did not have time to shed her clothes and shifted with them on. The seams of
the material separated and she ripped the rest away from her so she could fight.
She was the one who destroyed the door trying to get to your sister. They barred
it