by Knight, Gwen
Sighing, Harley took her hand and drew her close so he wouldn’t have to speak loudly. Another advantage of improved senses.
He couldn’t help but rub his thumb over her knuckles. What intrigued him, though, was the sound of her hitched breath. As though she enjoyed the sensation.
Well, he was about to burst that little bubble.
“Don’t panic,” he whispered, “but the jaguar shifters are still following us.”
He felt her stumble over a root, her muttered curse soft enough that no one questioned her.
“Are you sure?” she asked once back on steady feet.
Harley nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “The smell hasn’t faded, and every now and then, I can hear them moving through the trees.”
Her breath quickened. “What do they want?”
“Shh. Don’t panic. They might just be following us to make sure we aren’t here to start trouble. They likely know what I am. And if they’re friends with the one who bit you, then they know what you are, too. I don’t think you’re in any danger. If anything, it’s me.”
“You?” she hissed. “Why you?”
“Werewolves and jaguar shifters aren’t exactly on friendly terms with one another.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He gave her hand a small squeeze, hopefully a comforting one. “It was a long time ago, a few decades now, so before my time. But one of the jaguar leaders had made a play for some territory in the States. I don’t know the true story since the victor always tells it their way, but I do know the jaguars lost. Which is how they ended up down here. They found their own slice of heaven tucked away in southern Mexico and farther down, all the way into central South America. From what I’ve heard, that little tussle left a bad taste in their mouths for my kind.”
“And here you are, traipsing through their territory,” Jasmine finished.
“With one of their kind, no less.”
“One of their…. You mean me, don’t you? I don’t belong to them.”
“No, but they might think you do. You’re a jaguar. One of their packmates bit you. They might see it as you belong to them.”
“Screw that,” she hissed, sounding a little like the animal they’d turned her into.
“I just can’t figure out why. Why bring you down here? Why change you into a jaguar?”
“Luis never said why they chose the jaguars, but he did tell me why they chose me.”
“What?”
“He said they chose me because I believe shifters should have rights and because I had a relationship with you.”
Harley lurched to a stop and spun to face Jasmine. “What?”
The team lumbered up to them. “What’s wrong?”
“Give us a moment,” he growled.
Jasmine’s other hand curled around his elbow in a comforting embrace.
When Carlisle and Wells didn’t move, Harley openly snarled, his wolf rising to the surface. “I said back off!”
The men grumbled under their breaths, but finally, they gave them the privacy he demanded.
“You didn’t mention that back at camp,” he accused.
Jasmine winced. “I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Well, I’m upset, so no point holding back on me now.”
Sighing, her hand fell away from his arm. “I asked Luis why. Why kidnap me? Why change me? And his answer was that I deserved this. That if I was willing to have a relationship with an animal, then I might as well become one. I guess he works for Humans First?”
Harley’s wolf snapped at the sound of their name. Of course they were behind this.
“Luis said if I was willing to… fuck an animal, then I should be an animal.”
Okay, he desperately wanted to punch something or someone. Preferably this bastard Luis. To shame someone for who they loved, to even go so far as to punish them, to forever change that person’s life… what the hell was wrong with these people?
Harley sighed and focused on the problem at hand. “Which one was Luis?”
“Tall, medium build, Mexican descent, but his accent was American. He had a scar that ran from the corner of his eyebrow down to his mouth.”
Red-hot fury blistered Harley’s insides. “I didn’t kill anyone who looked like that. Was he there when we rescued you?”
She shook her head. “They took shifts. People came and went according to some schedule Luis made. He was the one in charge.”
Son of a bitch.
“Wells,” Harley barked.
The man in question approached. “What?”
“Did you see a man with a scar down his face among the dead? Eyebrow to mouth?”
“Negative.”
The red-hot fury erupted into scorching ire. For fuck’s sake. For the best men money could buy, Harley wasn’t impressed.
“The sniper,” he grumbled. “Twenty bucks says Luis was the sniper.”
Harley had to fight off the urge to abandon this mission and track down Luis. Anything to keep Jasmine safe. Doubtful the man would give up. He’d kidnapped her on behalf of Humans First and changed her into a shifter. Had that been part of his orders or had he gone rogue? And if they were his orders, why the hell would Humans First turn someone into a shifter? That was completely against their beliefs.
“Keep moving,” Harley commanded.
They started moving again, and Harley took a few moments to collect his thoughts. He couldn’t imagine a single reason why Humans First would purposely change someone. They wanted to destroy all shifters. Not create more. So what was the logic here?
“Tell me about Humans First,” Jasmine prompted after a few moments of silence.
Harley nodded. She deserved to know, especially if they were focused on her.
“They’re a radical group, right? Who openly protest against shifters?”
“That’s the picture they like to paint,” he said. “When they first started, they were nothing more than a protest group. A few rallies, a few letters to congress, but then a year ago, we had a run-in with them. They started attacking local businesses known for associating with werewolves. It wasn’t long after that when they went after a family of mountain lion shifters close to our pack. They tested new methods of silver and mercury poisoning on the family’s father. Dosed him with enough to slowly kill him. After the father, they moved on to the daughters. All because they hadn’t come out to the public yet. One of the daughters is the mate of one of my packmates, so we protected them. We’re immune to a lot, but silver and mercury hit the spot when it comes to our kind.”
She nodded. “Silver nitrate was one of the ingredients they kept pumping into me. Will it…” She paused and gathered her thoughts with a shivering breath. “Will it kill me?”
“You’ll be fine now that we’ve freed you from them. They’d used mercury on Maddie, and it took a while for the symptoms to present. Silver has an instantaneous effect on us. If they’d overdosed you with silver, you wouldn’t have woken up.”
And thank God that didn’t happen. If he’d stumbled upon Jasmine’s dead body, he would have brought the entire damn jungle down around Humans First’s heads.
“If they get their hands on you—” Harley nearly snarled at the thought. “—fight. Don’t let them take you or drug you. Fight. Death is better than what they have planned for any of us.”
“You can’t mean that,” she whispered.
“I saw firsthand what they did to Sterling and Maddie. It isn’t pleasant, Jasmine.”
Eventually, she nodded. “Then we fight. We’ll take these bastards down because I don’t know how to do anything else.”
A faint smile curved his lips. His little fighter. He admired that about her. Maybe it would be enough to get her out of this place.
Unfortunately, the sound of nearby movement contradicted his last thought. Cursing inwardly, Harley strained his ears and listened. Since they’d broken camp this morning, he’d been listening to all the animals go about the
ir business. The howler monkeys were by far the loudest, screeching their calls from the tops of the trees. But they’d suddenly fallen silent, the only sound that of soft feline feet padding toward them.
Harley released a long breath, about to discuss options with the rest of the group, when the jungle suddenly vanished and they stumbled into what appeared to be ancient ruins.
As a group, they all staggered to a stop, stunned by the abrupt change in scenery. A massive city sprawled out in front of them, surrounded by the very trees they’d been hiking through. Harley stared unblinkingly at the large temple looming over them, one bucked up against a huge staircase made of broken stone steps.
“Holy shit,” Wells breathed.
Nodding, Harley dropped to a knee and traced his fingers over a series of inscriptions and murals etched into the stone. At first, he couldn’t make out the images, but much like staring at an inkblot, the pictures slowly started to take shape.
Christ.
Images of jaguars surrounded them, as far as his eye could see. The entire city was covered in cracked murals, all depicting the same story over and over, one of jaguars rising above mankind, lording over them like gods. A forgotten ancient city, lost to the wilderness but reclaimed by the shifters that had once been revered here.
Harley cursed and shot to his feet, his fingers hovering near his sidearm.
The conniving little bastards… they’d herded them here.
“What is this place?” Jasmine whispered.
“Nowhere good,” Harley growled. Out in the wilderness, they stood a chance. But here? On the jaguars’ home turf? They were so fucked it wasn’t even funny.
He grabbed Jasmine and swung her in front of him, his hands rising up to her shoulders. “I want you to listen to me. We’re about to be attacked.”
Her eyes flew wide, but Harley pressed on before she could interrupt.
“Run. You hear me? Don’t look back. Don’t stop to help me or anyone else. Just run. If you feel the need to shift, do it. Don’t fight it. It’ll be easier if you let your cat take control. It knows what to do and how to keep you safe.”
She reached toward him, her fingers gripping his sides. “What? No! I’m not leaving you!”
“Yes, you are. I can’t fight and worry about you at the same time. Understand?”
The subtle movements grew louder. Likely, the jaguars had heard him telling her to run.
“You run. Find someplace safe, contact your father, and arrange another extraction point.”
“Fulton?” Wells called at his back. “What’s going on?”
“Harley—”
“Listen to me,” he snapped, his voice loud enough to carry to the rest of the team. The jaguars were close now, too close. He squeezed Jasmine’s shoulders and held her gaze, staring deep into her chocolate brown eyes if only to memorize them. “Run!”
The second the word exploded past his lips, his team took up position. Harley listened as they armed themselves and branched out into formation.
“Harley, wait—”
Caving to his secret desires, he wrenched Jasmine close and stole a kiss. If this was going to be the last time he saw her, he needed this. He refused to say goodbye again, not without tasting her one last time. Sadly, it ended too quickly for his liking.
He broke away, then gave her a gentle push back toward the trees. “Run! Now!”
Shadowed figures appeared as if from nowhere, claws and fangs extended, and eyes lit up like hellfire. Harley drew his gun and took aim, preparing to take a few of them down with him. His minutes might be numbered, but at least he’d die knowing Jasmine was safe.
9
Jasmine bolted through the trees, ducking and weaving through a series of untamed vines that were decidedly out to kill her. Every step she took, another one took the place of the last, snaking around her feet, arms, calves—anything and everything they could snag onto.
She beat one away from her face and leapt over a moldy fallen log, telling herself she needed to keep moving. Run, exactly like Harley had ordered.
Instead, her legs slowed. And not from the vines but from her own doubts. Yes, Harley had told her to run, but when had she ever obeyed Harley? He always treated her with kid gloves, and this time was no different. But she wasn’t a kid. Nor was she human. He’d just sent away the second strongest person on the team. Sure, the men were trained, but what did training matter when facing off against a pack of angry jaguars?
Cursing, she pivoted on her heel and dashed back toward the ruins, doubly mindful of the stupid vines and fallen log this time. She pushed as hard and fast as she could, amazed when her heart maintained a steady rhythm, never quickening, never faltering. An athlete herself, she was no stranger to running. But this was an all-out sprint. And it didn’t matter if you were the best-trained marathoner in the world—your heart picked up pace when you moved at breakneck speeds.
Not hers, though.
Not anymore.
The animal inside had all but made itself a new home, carving her out until nothing remained but the feline within. It was such a foreign feeling, knowing that something else resided within you. Something that could take control of your body and bend you to its will.
Thanks to her newfound abilities, it didn’t take long for her to dash back into the city. And the sight that welcomed her nearly stopped her heart dead in her chest. She’d never witnessed a fight before. Her life had always been under her father’s strict control. He hadn’t gone so far as to hire bodyguards, but he’d certainly employed a few men to track and trail her. Getting into scraps had never fit into her agenda.
But this?
This was far worse than a scrap.
Jasmine knew she’d never forget the sound of the jaguars’ screams or that of their claws ripping into flesh. Nor would she forget the sight of Harley’s men sprawled on the stone stairs, their blood dripping down the steps and their blind eyes staring up into the heavens above.
Only three men remained. And right now, she was thanking every single deity she knew that Harley was one of them. Wells and Carlisle were the other two. The jaguar shifters had managed to kill everyone else. Much like how Harley had taken down a few of their members.
For a moment, it looked as though her boys might win this fight. They seemed to have the jaguars on the defense. Until Jasmine spotted it. One of the beasts padding behind Harley, hidden behind a crumbled stone building. The other shifters had drawn his focus, given one of their own a chance to sneak up behind him.
Body trembling, Jasmine burst into action just as the other jaguar attacked. She leapt into the air and let her cat take over. The shift was seamless. One moment, she was human, and the next, her body was pure jaguar as she sailed through the air, her paws outstretched. Without hesitation, she collided with the other jaguar and took the brunt of the blow. Claws shredded her shoulders and fangs tore into her forearm, but Jasmine didn’t so much as scream as she rode the other beast to the ground, pinning it by the throat.
One squeeze, that was all it took, and a rush of blood filled her mouth. She tried not to focus on it too much, the taste of a stranger’s blood painting her tongue. Now wasn’t the time for a meltdown, and she sensed one approaching, especially if she focused on the fact that she’d just killed a man.
Instead, she bounced back to her feet and turned in time to find another shadow darting toward Harley. This time, her mouth opened and a ferocious roar ripped free of her throat.
Harley spun and, without pause, struck the jaguar in the jaw with a closed fist. The second it hit the stone ground, Harley grabbed his knife and drove it through the jaguar’s throat.
As one, they turned, prepared for the next attack, only to find one lone jaguar remaining. The giant cat padded backward, its bright eyes bouncing between the four of them. Outnumbered, it clearly had no desire to continue the attack. And when Harley stepped toward it, the jaguar turned and left the city, escaping into the trees and vanishing without a trace.
Re
lief loosened every muscle in Jasmine’s body. She slunk down onto her belly and rested her head, taking a moment to herself. The change came quickly to her, almost naturally now. It wasn’t long before she felt her bare ass against the bloody stone steps, her knees drawn up to her chest. She’d shredded her clothing with that last change. But thankfully, without a word, Harley rooted around in his pack and pulled out a spare pair of sweats and a T-shirt. They weren’t the most attractive, but Jasmine didn’t give a shit. Not after everything that just happened.
More than half the team had died. Men who had risked their lives to save her, gone. She knew it was part of the job, but that didn’t make the realization any easier to swallow. They’d come to save her, but they’d also come with every intention of making it home alive. And now, they never would. What if they had families?
Oh, God. What if they have kids?
Her stomach twisted. Unable to hold it in, she turned to the side and emptied the pitiful contents of her stomach onto the bloodstained stairs. She hadn’t even learned their names. And they were gone.
A pair of dark boots appeared in her periphery. “I told you to run.”
Jasmine gave a humorless smile and wiped her mouth. “Yeah, and I did. But then I decided to come back.”
“And almost got yourself killed,” Harley hissed.
Somehow, she couldn’t be bothered to care. “I saved your life. If I hadn’t come back, you’d be one of them right now.”
He followed her gaze over and winced. “I could have handled it.”
“Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Harley glanced back at her, his narrowed gaze studying her huddled form. “You all right?”
“Peachy,” she muttered. “Can we… move this conversation somewhere else, please?”
Sighing, he crouched in front of her and pushed her sweaty hair back from her face. “We’ll leave as soon as we can, but we need to bury them first.”
Of course. Right. Stupid of her to forget that. They should take the time to bury them, to respect them and honor the sacrifice they’d made in saving her life.
