Jennifer Ashley - Wild Cat

“We’re not waiting,” Diego said. “The hottest part of the day will be what-at three or four this afternoon?”

“About that,” Marlo said.

“We go in then. During siesta time, when the Shifters are napping.”

“They’ll still have the trackers guarding,” Shane said. “And there’s only two of us against who knows how many?”

“As you said, darkness won’t give us any advantage,” Diego said. “Daylight puts us on even sight footing, and as for the Shifters’ superior sense of smell…” He grinned. “I bet the local market has a great selection of chiles.”

Shane laughed and slapped Diego on the shoulder so hard that Diego nearly went to his knees. “I like the way you think, human.”

“No stealth, just chaos and confusion,” Diego said. “We don’t have an army, but we can make as much trouble as we can without one.”

Shane laughed again, but this time Diego ducked before the hearty swat could land.

Diego left Marlo with instructions of what he wanted the man to do and when, and also to keep trying to get hold of Eric. Diego could do this without an army, but having one would be even better.

Cassidy watched the Shifters quiet as the temperature rose. The guards changed, the ones watching Cassidy and protecting Miguel yawning as they left.

That’s the problem with letting yourself go feral , Cassidy thought. These Shifters had become nocturnal, snoozing in the light of day, prowling at night. Even Miguel was groggy.

If Cassidy were to make her move, it should be soon. Xavier was alert, but his wounds weren’t good-the cuts looked deep, and his left arm was broken. Cassidy would be carrying him out.

From what she’d been able to ascertain, they were being kept in the heart of the structure, behind the stoutest walls. Daylight showed through the doorways and the high windows, revealing half walls and completely missing walls beyond.

This room was the most heavily guarded, of course. Miguel had shifted and dozed off, a huge brown bear snoring on the floor. Two trackers sat on either side of him-Lupines-eyes open, fully alert. Two Felines guarded the door leading to daylight, two more standing guard at the door leading to the darkness that Cassidy didn’t like.

The smell from that opening bothered her. Too much fear. She had the feeling that the dark room beyond was where Miguel would stash her next.

Marlo’s airplane had flown over earlier, not too low. The Shifters had watched the plane, but because it hadn’t circled or returned, let it go. Cassidy had made herself not look up, remaining inert, uncaring.

She couldn’t help her slight jolt when she heard it again.

Cassidy masked her interest with a yawn, but the guards came alert. One leaned down and spoke into Miguel’s ear.

To Miguel’s credit, he didn’t wake up trying to tear his guard’s head off. He opened his eyes, listened, and shifted back to human, fully awake.

“Your friends?” he asked Cassidy. “You think that the human and the Collared bear are coming to rescue you?”

Cassidy stayed wildcat and didn’t answer.

Miguel got up and started for her. “I think it’s time to make the mate-claim stick.”

Damn. If he started on her, Cassidy would have to fight him. Fighting him would tax her strength and energy, which meant she might not have enough left for the dash out with Xavier. Plus her Collar would go off.

She drew a breath, trying to stay calm, and tried to draw on the techniques Jace had been teaching her to override her Collar. Cassidy knew she wasn’t anywhere close to mastering it yet-the Morrisseys in Austin had been working on this for years, Cassidy only a few weeks.

Still, she closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and tried to clear her mind.

“Bring her,” Miguel’s voice grated through her thoughts. “And kill the human.”

Cassidy opened her eyes and snarled. No time for meditation. She’d just have to fight through the pain.

She struck at the bear and the wolf that closed in on her. Her paw ripped across the bear’s face before she felt the tingle of her Collar. But she couldn’t stop for that. She had to protect Xavier.

The wolf went for her throat. Cassidy gave up and let herself go. She became a ball of snarling teeth and claws. She struck and bit, swiped and ducked, using her Feline reflexes to out-jump, out-smack, out-leap her opponents.

Idiots. Miguel should have sent a Feline to take down a Feline. Bears and wolves outweighed her and had more brute strength, but Cassidy’s agility kept them from pinning her.

She fought hard until Miguel’s paw caught her on the side of her head. His bear was huge, almost as big as Shane. Cassidy stumbled, stunned, and her Collar bit pain deep into her.

Still she fought him. She couldn’t let Miguel kill Xavier.

Miguel roared. He was finished playing. Cassidy struggled on against him and the wolf, her claws leaving deep gouges. The second bear had retreated, his face a bloody mess.

Miguel clamped his giant maw on the back of Cassidy’s neck, huge teeth breaking through her fur. He started dragging Cassidy toward the dark doorway, from which issued a stench of fear and sweat.

The wolf was joined by a second, both of them circling on huge paws around Xavier. They were going to kill him.

Cassidy struggled, snarled, lashed, bit. Miguel held her fast. Damn him.

She did not want to go through that doorway. Despair and fear reigned there. Not that door, not that door…

Bright, blinding light. The whump of an explosion. More light. Cassidy’s eyes screwed shut, and Miguel grunted and dropped her. Cassidy tried to scramble away, only to be stopped by a paw whacking her down to her side.

More light. A flash of brightness so intense it blinded her even though Cassidy had instinctively shut her eyes.

And then the stench. Not Shifters. Sharp raw smells-ammonia, gasoline, and pepper. So much pepper. Not pepper spray, but an explosion of nose-assaulting chiles, the kind that could burn your skin and make your eyes and nose run for hours.

To throw that over a Shifter…

She heard yowls and snarls, howls. Confusion.

Over it came another explosion of light, and in the middle of the light-as well as her streaming eyes could see-a man.

Not a Shifter. He was an upright man with black hair and eyes like midnight. He held a shotgun in competent hands, and he blasted Shifters left and right. Behind him came a very, very angry grizzly.

The Shifters weren’t dying. They were falling, groaning, weeping, howling. Whatever Diego was hitting them with was making them insane with pain.

Two large paws locked over Cassidy. Miguel. Still up, still fighting.

He dragged Cassidy to the darkened doorway, caught her by the scruff of her neck, and tossed her inside. Cassidy shifted at the last second, the change painful this time, and caught the doorframe with both hands. Miguel shifted at the same time, rising tall to face Diego.

Diego just looked at him, no emotion, no fear, nothing in his face. He’d come to do a job, and he’d finish it. No questions.

“The woman is mine ,” Miguel shouted at him. “No matter what you do to my Shifters, she’s my mate . I claim her.”

“ I reject the claim! ” Cassidy yelled.

Her shout would have been good enough for civilized Shifters, but Miguel only smiled. “The claim is mine unless this puny human here wants to Challenge.”

Diego would have no idea what that meant, but apparently he didn’t care. Diego brought up his shotgun and aimed it at Miguel.