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The woman held still and as Skye barreled in on course, she could see clearly, even from several hundred feet out, the woman’s dark eyes and her lethal concentration.
She was almost upon the woman, her large body twisting in the air, trying to become an impossible target to shoot at, and when the heat flashed by, singeing the edge of her wing, she felt not pain, but surprise.
It was enough and she faltered, but at the speed Skye was going she knew she was going to crash.
Her golden body shot down through the canopy and she heard the roar of a jaguar as she slid into the darkened interior and disappeared from view.
Jagger felt his heart stop. Literally.
When Skye had flown past him, a crazy blur of golden feathers, his first reaction had been anger, disbelief. Why would she disobey his order and return? Was she fucking nuts?
He took off after her, although his anger had quickly bled through a spark of admiration when he’d come across the injured enemy. The tall man was cursing the eagle knight as he held his blinded eyes.
Jagger had made quick work of the asshole and moved on. There was no time to waste. He’d heard the shots and knew the danger had tripled, and the fear he felt for Skye drove him forward with savage intent.
Two more men of magick stood in his way, but they were inferior, and while he immobilized them quickly, they did manage to slow his progress. As he took off running through the jungle, his only thoug
ht was to get to Skye.
The fear that hung in his gut was sickening and it increased sharply as the echoing sound of gunfire rent the air.
He reached the battle just in time to see her hit and watch her veer crazily away into the thick trees that lined the bank of a small stream.
He bolted toward the tree line, hearing an answering war call as Nico arrived on the scene. He didn’t look back. Nico could look after himself.
His body slid through the dense undergrowth that covered the jungle floor, large paws slicing through lush greenery. He scoured the area with his eyes and nose and followed her scent. It had changed subtly, but lay heavy in the air, agitating the possessiveness that he felt.
Jagger located her almost immediately; the flash of golden feathers called to him in a way that hurt. The mist slowly crept over his body and as the ancient magick took hold, stripping back fur and elongating bones, he tried his best to clamp down on the paralyzing fear that clogged his throat.
He approached the downed eagle, his steps soft on the moist earthen floor. Skye had landed deep within a bed of vinery, but he approached with caution. An injured animal was much more prone to striking out, and he’d seen the damage that her vicious claws could produce.
“Skye,” he whispered softly. “Baby, you all right?”
The eagle slowly began to move, her large wings unfurling, and he held back as she maneuvered her way from the thick vines and hopped down onto the jungle floor.
She was magnificent. Took his breath away, and that was saying something.
When she’d first shifted days earlier, Skye had been an incredible sight in the air as she’d followed him through the jungle. But here, now, up close he could see the true beauty that was an eagle shifter.
Her golden feathers shone, seeming almost translucent as they caught what bit of sunlight there was down here at the bottom of the jungle.
He watched in wonder as she stretched out her wings in a graceful arc and stood, silent, before him.
“Come here,” Jagger said simply as he took a tentative step toward her. He held out his arm, coaxing, pleading.
The fear that she would up and fly away was paramount and he still had no clue as to what her injuries were. She’d not shifted back to human form, so that told him all was not well.
The eagle cocked its head and as the eyes regarded him in silence. Jagger smiled to himself.
She was beautiful. Fucking amazing to look at. Her strength, spirit, bite-me attitude—all of it was there in plain sight. It tugged at his heartstrings.
The eagle shifter might not know it yet, but he had no intention whatsoever of letting her go.
As he moved closer, Jagger could sense her confusion and it gave him pause. He didn’t want to frighten Skye, but again, the thought that she would leave him, now, forever, tore at him and he went with his gut.
“Here sweets, come here.” He had to believe there was a connection between the two of them that she felt as well.
He motioned toward his arm, now fully extended, and when the eagle began to hop toward him, he stilled.
