Hot Blooded

it's blistering."
    "It is. Shift, Juliette, hurry before you're a mass of blisters. We'll talk
about this later." Solange looked at her closely. "You can tell me what that man
has done after we get Jasmine back."
    "Tell me whether or not the jaguar male went near the humans," Juliette
encouraged as she tied her own clothes in knots and looped them around her neck.
    "He did. He spoke briefly with them, although he didn't reveal his body to
them. He was able to half shift.
Half
of his body human and the other
half jaguar. I can't do that. None of us can."
    "You come from the purest bloodline we know of," Juliette pointed out. "Mom
referred to you as a princess once."
    Solange made a face. "Somehow I don't consider myself very lucky. I wouldn't
want to be the princess of the jaguar people." She glanced around her. "Are you
ready? We have to get out of here. Those men have had Jasmine far too long." She
was already shifting, fur bursting through her skin, rippling over her face
while her muzzle elongated to accommodate teeth.
    Juliette closed her burning eyes and reached for Riordan.
Tell me you are
safe
.
    I am deep in the arms of the earth. Let me help you shift
. He sensed
how tired she was, how weak. He stifled the need to keep her with him. Greater
than his own need, there was hers. She had to find her sister, and he understood
that. He didn't like it, but he understood it.
    Juliette called up her large cat, concentrating on the shifting of muscle and
bone. She felt Riordan moving within her, lending her power and strength when he
didn't have it to give. A part of her wanted to weep when she felt his pain. She
feared the coming separation from him, but she had to find Jasmine.
    The change took her rapidly. Juliette touched muzzles with Solange and they
turned together and raced off into the darkened interior. Using the jaguar's
highly acute sense of smell they found Jasmine's trail immediately and hurried
after her. They took to the overhead highway, the tangle of branches high up in
the canopy that allowed them to travel fast and in secret.
    Birds took to the air, shrieked warnings at their passing, but neither jaguar
paid any attention, and after a moment the birds settled back into the tops of
the trees, ignoring them. The forest had stirred to life, insects humming, frogs
croaking and deer barking to warn of the larger predators.
    Juliette knew the exact moment when Riordan succumbed to the climbing sun and
his heart stopped beating. The breath went out of her lungs, her heart stuttered
in reaction, and she was suddenly and utterly alone—bereaved, grief-stricken.
The jaguar stumbled, nearly tumbling from the branches. Claws dug into bark,
scattering leaves and twigs and sending the birds once more shrieking. Solange
turned sharply to growl a warning for stealth. They did not want to alert any of
the males that might be guarding the back-trail.
    The heavy canopy protected her from the sun, but Juliette still felt the rays
piercing her skin through the thick fur. Her eyes wept continually, burning in
the light. None of it mattered—not her grief, not her discomfort. Not the
separation from her other half. She focused on her beloved sister. Jasmine was
all that mattered. Juliette followed Solange.
    The trail grew warmer in early afternoon. The pungent odor of the jaguar
males was easier to follow. They were taking turns, hurrying through the forest,
four in jaguar form and one in human form carrying Jasmine.
    In spite of her determination, Juliette found she was having trouble keeping
up with Solange. Her body, even in the form of the jaguar, demanded she sleep
and worse, wanted to shift back into her human form. She'd always had trouble
holding her animal shape for long periods of time. She had never gone from early
dawn to early afternoon and it was nearly impossible to continue.
    Solange stopped abruptly, her animal form suddenly stiffening. Juliette
caught the scent of fear, of violence, of sexual predation. She lost her jaguar
self, gagging, choking, catching the branch of the tree for support to keep from
falling. Solange shifted into her human shape, holding Juliette as she was
violently ill.
    For a few minutes, Juliette's head roared with protest, with rage. She
pounded at the bark of the trees until her fists were bruised and bleeding,
weeping uncontrollably. "She fought them. She fought them, and I wasn't here.
How could they do such a thing to