I shoved, pulled, slashed, and lunged. Nothing I did got this guy to back down. He was unusually strong, and I was struggling to stay upright. My shoulder throbbed from where his fangs had taken a chunk of flesh. My sides burned from multiple slashes, and I was beginning to tire.
One last swipe across the jaw had him flying off to the side and landing heavily on the ground. He lay still, and I thought it was finished. I needed to help Leo. I could hear him still struggling behind me.
Remarkably, just as I started to turn around, the jaguar leapt back up and stalked towards me.
I couldn’t stop my paws from backing away, as I took in his feral appearance. His golden coat was covered in blood and showed raw meat from where I ripped a large piece of flesh from his body. I knew I probably looked the same, but it was the other features that had me itching to run away.
His eyes glowed bright red, and pinkish foam dripped off his snarling lips. What in God’s creation was that thing? My answer was obvious. God had not created it. No, someone had been playing with something they shouldn’t have, and I had a good idea who that someone was.
Just as the cat leapt towards me, two gunshots went off. The jaguar slumped to the ground, the top of his head a ruined mess. I turned around to see Paul with his gun aimed at two unmoving lumps of bloody fur.
I limped over and pushed the jaguar off of Leo. He was barely recognizable, he was cut up so badly. His large golden mane was soaked red, as was the rest of his fur. His eyes were closed, and I leaned in closer to see if he was breathing. His chest rose, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I swiftly shifted into human form. The change would stop some of the bleeding and I needed to talk to Paul. Once the transformation was complete, I stood naked, covered in drying blood and heaving as I caught my breath.
“Thanks, Paul, but what are you doing here?”
Paul’s dark eyes lifted away from where Leo lay to meet mine. Even after seeing such carnage, his expression remained emotionless.
“There’s trouble.”
My eyes narrowed. “What kind of trouble.”
Jordan’s been taken.”
“Shit! Where’s the rest of the team?”
“I don’t know. There’s been no sign of them.”
I went to lift my hand to run it through my hair and hissed when pain shot through my arm. I looked down to see most of my right bicep had been torn away. The white of bone looked startling bright against the raw flesh.
“Shit!” I cursed again.
“We need to get you and Leo out of here.”
I shook my head. “No, you need to get Leo out of here, and I’m going after Jordan.”
Paul’s eyebrows lifted. “You can’t—”
His words cut off at the sound of flapping wings. We looked up to see Hawk circling. He landed, shifting into human form at the same time. After taking in his surroundings, Hawk turned towards Paul and me.
“Shit, Alex! What the hell happened?”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know. They came out of nowhere, and if Paul hadn’t shown up, Leo and I would have been torn to shreds.”
“Looks like he was late, you are torn to shreds,” Terry said from behind me. “What happened?”
Terry ran over to kneel beside Leo as she looked him over. She was naked as well, but we ignored it. Nudity was a normal part of being a shifter. Not to say it wasn’t pleasant to see a beautiful naked woman, but we tried hard not to look below her neck.
Well, Hawk and I knew better. Paul, on the other hand, was a newbie and didn’t hide his blatant appraisal.
He was lucky Terry’s attention was occupied elsewhere, because if she knew he was looking at her like that, he would be in a world of hurt. Last time someone’s eyes lowered below her face, she broke their arm. We learned real quick it was much easier and a whole lot more pleasant to just look her in the eye at all times.
“I was just telling Hawk, we never saw them coming, and their strength was…” I couldn’t find the words for how strong those jaguars had been.
“Immense, I know.” Terry nodded, still looking at Leo. “Three had me trapped on the roof. Luckily, Hawk came along and we got away.” She looked up at me, her eyes sad. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help Jordan. They took us by surprise, and I had no time to get a shot off.”
“I’ve got to get him.”
“Wait, no way, man! You need to heal up some first,” Hawk said.
Gritting my teeth, I straightened my shoulders as best I could and tried not to cry out in pain. I was third in command. With Teij not here and Jordan possibly captured, that put me in charge and they knew it.
“Paul and I will go search for Jordan. I want the two of you to contact Teij. Get him caught up on the situation. Leo needs a medic, see that he gets out of here.”
Hawk and Terry both nodded and turned away. Terry had shifted, so she could communicate with Teij, as Hawk lifted Leo into his arms and started towards the forest. They would meet up with the helicopter in the fields where we dropped.