THE COUGAR'S BABY - 22

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T W O - - - - D A N I E L L A

Her ears were flat against her skull as she skulked along the outer perimeter of the room, trying to distinguish where the scientist that Shar had referred to could be. Not only him, but she had yet to see Soyo either, and she would be damned if she’d be leaving this place without getting that wretch of a man.

The footsteps came closer, or they were really less footsteps and more the ceaseless thrumming of thunder, moving in uninhibited. Dani saw the ghostly glow of the lights of the vats, startling her slightly when one went from blue to red and the man inside seemed to take a labored breath, his strong body keeling over in the odd coagulating goo.

Keep your mind clear, she told herself.

That kiss still lingered in the back of her head, enticing in the way it wanted to distract her. But she had a mission to see through, a job, even if the only thing she dreamed of was a chance to curl up in Shaun’s arms and tell him how fucking sorry she was for everything. She’d have to hope that fate would give her that chance.

Finally, her keen ears picked up another trail of conversation, hushed, hurried. They must have heard Ron’s screaming as well and she’d half-expected to be surrounded by endless armed troops now, but none of that happened. She moved closer to the noise, one ear still listening intently to the threatening approach of the beast, the puppy, as it had been so affectionately named. It was unlike any puppy she’d ever seen, though.“We must move, sir. There is not enough time. The beast will be here and whoever is out there…”

“Shut up,” Soyo’s voice barked, so close she could almost taste his last breath as she imagined the vile man finally dying. “We need the powder extracted. Without it, the rest of the teams will be useless in Delaware.”

“But I can’t do it this fast! We have a small store, we can manage—” the other voice protested, oddly sniveling.

“No, we need as much as we can. Get it, then we get out. I can’t go out there guns blazing. Last thing we need is one of those unstable red fuckers tumbling out of their containments and going fucking berserk on us. Two is enough.”

“Yes, sir,” the other voice answered and Dani could hear tears at the back of his throat.

At that very moment, Dani heard the crash of something big slamming through the front door that they’d glided in from quiet as mice. A chilling roar echoed through the room, a mix of a wolf, a dog, and something so satanic she couldn’t name it. Her coat rose in a long trail from her neck to the tip of her wide tail and her long fangs were bared instinctively, the jaguar reacting immediately.

She turned around, hearing grunts and growls and the distinct shatter of glass. Shaun would be no match for that thing alone. Before she could control herself, knowing well that their first mission was to stop anything harmful from getting out of Isabela, she was running through the room at top speed, right toward the noise.

When Shaun and his attacker came into view, Dani’s whole body rebelled against throwing herself into that scene. The beast was even larger in person than it had been on the screens, covered in dark, midnight-black hair which was now doused in blood. She had no way of knowing whether it was the blood of her people or someone else.

There were scratches and wounds along its flank and bullet wounds in its chest, but they seemed to barely hinder him at all. Its eyes were entirely red now, not a hint of gold left anymore that Dani had seen when they first emerged, the two deathly brothers of destruction.

Shaun was panting, favoring one side. They’d obviously clashed once already and it was a miracle he was still standing, what with the deep gash in his side. The beast came at Shaun again, not caring for the conventions of battle, stomping right through shards of glass and plastic left behind from a broken vat, its inhabitant now slumped on the ground. The man shook like a fish out of water.

Dani couldn’t stand by, a part of her knowing that if the beast got its jaws on Shaun, he would be dead and there would be nothing she could do about it. So she lunged, forgetting all about personal safety, going tooth for tooth for the man she loved. Her claws gripped into the beast’s back and Dani perched on him, ripping through the powerful muscles there.

It let out a horrified wail and flung itself to the side, attempting to shake Dani off and crashing into another vat as it did so. But she held on. Her teeth thrust into the beast’s shoulder, trying to thrash through to veins she knew to be hidden under the mountains of muscle, while she was holding on for dear life. The body of the beast seemed to be in constant motion and the blood tasted disgusting on Dani’s tongue, ten times worse than the werewolf she had cut down outside.

But then just when its claws managed to grip her by the scruff, Shaun pounced as well. He went for the front and for a terrifying moment, Dani thought the beast had gotten hold of Shaun before Shaun could get a solid grip. Shaun’s destructive jaws tore at the beast’s neck and Dani joined him, two werejaguars putting all their might into mauling the most delicate places they could think of.

It managed to fling Dani off, sending her tumbling into the slick goop, but she scrambled to her feet in time to see the beast take one last labored groan and then fall to its awkwardly bent knees, blood gushing from its neck.

Shaun crawled out from under him, doused in the beast’s crimson blood, but he didn’t stop to admire the outcome. Dani had to work hard to catch up with him as he sped through the room and toward the door she had found. He was tired, though, made evident by the fact that Dani could outrun him. She burst into the room first and before Soyo could do a damn thing about it, she was on him, catching him with his hand already on the door leading out.

He screamed something unintelligible, but Dani didn’t care anymore. Victory thrummed in her veins and she relished the moment she felt his life leaving him under her claws, payment for a horrible life.

She was panting heavily when she released his carcass. Only now did Dani realize that her vision was swimming and her muscles were screaming at her. Something in the beast’s blood was intoxicating in a way, but it also made her weak and disoriented. She managed to find Shaun, who had shifted into his human form and was taping a scared-looking man to a chair, his movements labored as he slung the duct tape around his wrists and ankles.

Dani shifted back, shining green eyes blinking with surprise when she couldn’t stand up straight the moment she took to her human form. She sunk to her knees, meeting Shaun’s gaze as he came over to her on wobbly feet, falling down hard into a seated position as well.

“I know, baby. It’ll be fine. Whatever that was, we’ll be fine,” he said, his words already slurred.

Dani nodded dully, liking the sound of his voice, it being seemingly the only thing that could pierce her haze now.

The last thing she heard before she blacked out, her head hitting Shaun’s chest as he slumped over as well, was him saying “I love you.”