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Rory’s mouth fell open as the nymph ran off.
The damn jackal beneath him started shifting.
He’d been trying to keep one of these shifters alive to provide intel for Scarlett. She’d given them what they’d all believed would be a Jugo Loco distribution meeting in exchange for the team handing her the name of the person running these bounty hunters.
If he could take this jackal back alive, they could wring the truth out of him and fulfill their part of the deal Tess made on behalf of the Guardian.
This shifter had been ready to gut that woman and in another few seconds, he’d be changed into a jackal.
Rory reached for the bald head that had contorted into an elongated snout with fangs. The jackal slashed his claws, trying to gut Rory. He missed but filleted an arm. Fucker. Rory trapped the shifting upper body between his legs and twisted the half-jackal head hard until the neck snapped.
Bastard ripped a new wound on his other arm.
Pushing off the jackal’s body, Rory stood and stared at the empty spot where the woman had been.
A moment ago, his shoulder had been no more healed than his new arm wounds, but with one touch of the nymph’s hand his shoulder had begun mending.
That sensation had dropped to a trickle as soon as she backed away.
He’d struggled not to grab her back into his embrace. Yeah, that would win him Asshole Of The Year award. He’d never forced a woman to be with him, but ... that fearless female drew him like a human magnet.
Of course, she wasn’t exactly human, now was she?
Staring at her that first time had pulled him toward her.
He couldn’t call up the color of her eyes. Why not? He was good with details like that during any operation.
Holding her had stirred parts of him to life that had no place on a mission.
Not a witch or a healer, according to her.
A nymph healer, maybe.
What else could she be with that shoulder-length white hair glowing around her head, barefoot and clothes half on? He’d gotten a look at her stomach when she’d first dropped off the table and the slashed wound had been bleeding.
But as she’d turned to run just now, her ripped shirt exposed the same spot on her stomach, covered in unblemished creamy skin.
Not even a scar.
My power kills. Those words echoed in his mind. Everything about her had been a contradiction. She’d killed a jackal, then healed Rory, then warned him to stay away from her or ... what? Her power would kill him?
She’d damn sure taken down that other jackal. With her bare hands no less.
What the hell was she?
He’d wanted to chase her. So had his cat, but Rory had to be here now and his beast couldn’t be trusted not to go rushing after the nymph.
Something about the way she averted her gaze bugged him.
She’d been around shifters. Maybe she normally kept her eyes down around the alphas and was just being careful.
He felt the skin on his shoulder moving and looked down to see the wound continuing to heal. Relief washed over him. About damn time. His healing had been getting slower and slower lately. The last thing he needed was the Guardian noticing.
The noise of Justin and Vic fighting the bounty hunters out front quieted down.
Shit, if things had gone as planned, that meant one of the other shifters, probably a wolf, should be on the run. If he came this way, he’d see the dead guards. Rory hoped the escaping wolf would be too invested in running to pay attention, but who knew?
This direction made the most sense based on the recon Rory had been able to do when they first arrived, but he had no guarantee the runner would head this direction for sure. That was the thing about a busted op. You had to rely on possible outcomes.
If Rory shifted into his jaguar, he could communicate with Justin and Vic telepathically, but only if they had also shifted into their animals.
As a Gallize, they avoided shifting unless there was no other option.
Rory moved around to find a hiding spot and wait for the runner.
It didn’t take long.
But now he had a new issue.
If the guard racing into the dead jackal scene was the expected runner, he’d shifted into a brown wolf.
Ferrell growled softly, his happy sound, because he knew they had to shift to keep pace.
The wolf skidded to a stop and took in the bloody scene, then lifted his nose and turned his head until he faced the thicket Rory hid behind.
Calling up the change, Rory groaned as his clothes shredded so Ferrell could take his place.
With Ferrell loose, Rory fought to hold his beast back. Ferrell would never stand down with a predator coming for them.
When the wolf lowered his head and stared hard at the thicket, his eyes glowed yellow, with tiny pupils. Too tiny for the fading light.
That one could be on the Black River pack’s crazy juice.
Rory’s jaguar sent him a new visual of a wolf laying on his back and exposing his belly.
Sure. That wolf would just roll over and give up.
Listen to me, Ferrell, Rory said telepathically. The only experience you have fighting a shifter jacked up on Jugo Loco was that jackal, and he was a dud. Let the wolf come to us and make the first mistake.
Ferrell answered by bunching his muscles for an attack.
I thought you weren’t ready to die, Rory muttered silently to the crazy cat.
As the wolf crept forward cautiously, Rory doubled down on his control to keep Ferrell from leaping first. He called out telepathically to Justin, hoping this wolf meant his teammates had changed as well. Rory said, The runner ain’t runnin’. He stopped where I had to take out two jackals. His eyes are crazed like he’s whacked out on BRP juice and he’s scented my jaguar. We’re gonna tangle any second.
Justin sent back, Don’t engage. They had two more guards hidden. It may not be Jugo Loco. Not sure what they’re on. We’re still hung up out here. Abort the plan to track. If he’s a big-ass red wolf, get away from that one now. He almost killed Vic before we shifted. Should be one bastard left fighting Vic. Let me get that dealt with and ... Silence filled the pause then Justin said, Ah, hell, we’re missing two wolves. Get the fuck out ...
At that moment, Rory locked Justin out mentally as a second wolf with a red coat the color of Georgia mud came crashing onto the scene.
