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CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Rev knew he’d need to take out the two guards, quickly and quietly. Jaguars were smaller and less powerful, but they had the advantage in speed and agility. He had to catch them by complete surprise.
Watching the closest jaguar, he observed the cat pacing a semicircle that covered half the perimeter.
As soon as the sun set, it was time to put his plan in motion. When the jaguar turned and walked toward the farthest extent of his track, Rev sprinted toward a moss-cloaked live oak.
He quickly climbed into the branches and waited for his prey. As soon as the jaguar walked directly underneath him, Rev dropped his full weight onto the jaguar. Piercing his neck with a single bite, the jaguar’s death was instant. Rev dragged the body away from the perimeter before repeating the same tactic on the second sentry.
With both guards out of the way, Rev crept past the perimeter and into the camp. Taking cover behind a pile of scrap metal, he listened and sniffed the air for any sign of Hallie.
There are at least five more jaguars in the camp, but probably more. There’s no way I’ll be able to take on all of them at once, especially in their own camp.
Then he heard Hallie’s voice, she was shouting. “Fuck you. I told you the truth. Take it or leave it, but either way, fuck you and fuck your bastard friends.”
That’s the girl I love. She’s in that building.
He stared intently at the garage, then he judged the distance from where he was hiding. Taking note of how many other locations he could use for cover, he knew his odds of staying hidden were better if he was in human form. Not to mention it would be easier on Hallie to see her rescuer as a human instead of a giant tiger.
As soon as he shifted, he jumped from shadow-to-shadow heading toward the garage. But before he could make it, a man walked in through a side door. Within seconds, he heard the man laughing maniacally and the sound of chains being slammed down on the concrete floor.
He could no longer worry about staying undetected. He had to save her. Racing through the door, he confronted a man who was wrestling Hallie from the chair and onto a workbench. Spotting the length of chain, he immediately grabbed it and wrapped it around the man’s neck. He snapped the jag’s neck with a single pull, and his body dropped limply to the floor.
“Rev? How? How did you know? How did you find me?” Her eyes raked down his naked form. “Did you lose your clothes on the way here?”
“There’ll be time to explain later. Right now, we’ve got to get you out of here,” he said, ripping away her restraints like they were mere threads.
“You don’t understand! They’re monsters! They’re like shapeshifters. I saw them transform into jaguars. I know I must sound insane, but it’s true!”
The garage door suddenly flung open, revealing Frank and two other men. “Looks like your boyfriend decided to crash our party,” Frank said.
“He must like watching,” one of the other men said, laughing.
It was at that point they noticed the lifeless body in the shadows. Frank let out a deep, angry growl, and the men shifted into jaguars.
Rev placed himself in front of Hallie. “Don’t panic.” Crouching, he roared and shifted into a tiger.
Frank and Rev lunged at each other, fangs bared and claws outstretched. They collided in midair and fell to the floor in a flurry of fur and blood.
The other jaguars moved in on Hallie, cornering her. Stepping over the corpse, she spotted a pistol stuffed in his waistband. Moving quickly, she pulled it out and leveled it at the closest jaguar. She fired until the beast dropped, unmoving. She got two shots at the second jaguar before it immediately turned and ran out of the garage.
In front of her, Rev and Frank were locked in brutal mortal combat. There was nothing she could do without risking hitting Rev with a bullet.
After realizing one of his jaguars was dead and the other one had fled, Frank broke away from Rev and bolted out of the garage.
Rev shifted to human and wrapped Hallie in his arms. “I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“Are you kidding? I can’t imagine a more perfect time to find out you can shift into a tiger. I thought we were dead for sure.”
“Unfortunately, we aren’t safe yet. Those jaguars are still out there, and I doubt they are willing to just let us walk out of here. Keep that gun handy and stay right behind me,” he said and immediately shifted back into a tiger.
Moving quickly, they left the garage. Rev located a blood trail and soon discovered the second jaguar Hallie had shot. It attempted one last leap at Rev, but the move turned out to be a fatal mistake.
Just as Rev finished off the jaguar, Frank appeared in human form and confronted Hallie. She screamed and squeezed the trigger on the pistol. Rev heard it click uselessly. It was empty. Seizing the opportunity, Frank wrapped his arm around her neck and used her as a human shield.
Rev shifted to human and slowly moved toward them. “Let her go. We’ll leave, and you’ll never see us again.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. I’m the one leaving, and she’s coming with me. She’s my insurance, motherfucker.”
