AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m guessing by the way she’s dressed that she was still on her date when you tracked her down,” said Paige, her voice even.
I bit back a growl. “She was,” I replied, keeping my expression blank.
“Did it look like it was going well?”
It had actually. She and Coop had been smiling and leaning toward each other, as if they’d wanted their own private bubble to talk. And I hadn’t fucking liked it. Jealousy and possessiveness were such pointless emotions, and I hated feeling them, but they’d struck me hard at that restaurant.
I forced a casual shrug. “I can’t be sure. You’d have to ask Maya.”
Moments of silence ticked by, and I hoped it meant Paige was done. That turned out to be wishful thinking.
“She’d have been good for you, you know,” said Paige, her voice soft. “It’s a shame that you’re not in a place where you could give her a chance to show you that.”
Right then, Maya came padding out of the shadows in her jaguar form. All grace and muscle, she was a sight to behold. Her coat was black and sleek with faint rosettes that weren’t easy to see at first glance. She went straight to Paige, who gave her a brief stroke. My hand itched to do the same, but I knew Maya wouldn’t allow it. That rankled. It felt like I was being deprived of something that was rightfully mine.
Taking the sock Sam had given me from my pocket, I crouched down and held it out to the big cat. She came over and took a long sniff, taking in the scent that belonged to one of the missing humans, and then stepped back with a nod.
Stuart and Alora arrived within moments of each other, and then we all headed out of the gates and toward the portion of the island where the humans had allegedly ventured. Alora stuck close to the jaguar, who instantly took the lead. Stuart and I covered the rear while Paige walked closely behind her squad members.
The humans naturally hadn’t tried to conceal their trail, so they wouldn’t be difficult to find. Good. Because, as always, the hot air within the vast forest was thick and humid. The further we walked, the more suffocating the oppressive air felt. Sweat beaded my nape, forehead, and upper lip.
Moonlight flashed through the occasional gaps in the lush canopy. The place was nature at its wildest with the overabundance of vegetation and the plentiful wildlife. We sidestepped shrubs, evaded dirty puddles, stepped over protruding tree roots, and ducked under hanging moss or branches.
I was on alert for any calls for help, but it was so damn loud in the forest—especially with the fucking hooting monkeys—that I wasn’t so sure any calls would be easily heard.
Maya abruptly stopped, her body tensing. We all halted just the same. Her head whipped around to face Alora.
“What is it?” I asked, stalking forward.
“She’s sending me lots of images,” said Alora. “Blood. Pain. Death. Someone died here. More than one.”
“The trails have separated,” I noted. “The humans split into twos. They ran in different directions. Maybe on purpose. Maybe in sheer fright.”
“Paige and I will take the left trail,” announced Stuart, who then burst into molecules that zoomed away. Paige was hot on his heels in vampiric speed.
The remaining three of us followed the right trail. It was mere moments before we came upon a body.
Alora sucked in a breath. “Jesus Christ.”
I had a strong stomach, but even I almost turned away. The male had been savagely attacked. He was covered in vicious rake wounds that ran so deep they revealed bone. Chunks of his flesh had been bitten from his body—particularly from his face and throat. Hell, his bottom lip had been all but ripped away.
“What would do this?” asked Alora, holding the back of her hand against her mouth.
As the jaguar let out a distressed sound that tightened my chest, I took a chance and reached out to stroke her head, thankful she allowed it. “It had to have been an animal. You can see the bite marks. No human or vampire could have done this.”
“But animals …”
“Rarely attack humans, especially like this, I know,” I finished. “Let’s find the other person who came this way.”
It didn’t take long. They weren’t very far away, and they weren’t alive. Their body had been just as brutally ravaged.
“Shit,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. “This is—”
A blur of golden fur came from our left and landed right on the jaguar with a feral growl.
My heart slammed against my ribs. “What the fuck?”
Maya hissed in pain and shook off the animal. A leopard. She pounced on it in a flash, and it was clear she meant to disable it, not kill it. But the big cat was caught up in a fury. An unnatural fury. Its eyes were crazed, and its fur was coated in blood that didn’t appear to be its own. It went for Maya with a roar, the intent to kill clear in its green gaze.
