Black Seduction (5 page)

“Put me down!” She was no fucking trophy, especially not for
this asshole.

He grunted, or possibly laughed, but simply tightened his
grip when she twisted. If she changed, he would too. And she wouldn’t be able
to overpower Devon in her fur, not when he was already holding her. He would
kill her instantly.

And death wasn’t on her itinerary for tonight.

Glancing up, she stared at the street behind her, and at
Raul, Rafe and Ran who quickly gained distance as they chased after them. There
were others too. Litters were everywhere, running toward them or watching, but
everywhere. They were right earlier when they said Colony wouldn’t be the same
after tonight. But she thought it was her littermate’s actions that would
destroy everything, not hers.

Raul gained speed and the determination and anger lining his
dark features were terrifying. Her blood sizzled in her veins, igniting fire
that rushed down her spine and made it damn hard not to transform into her fur.
So much aggression and fury were too much for her human body to handle.

“You aren’t going to ruin our chances,” Devon howled, his
growl fierce as he cut off the road and raced between two homes on the outer
edge of Colony.

“I haven’t ruined your chances,” she screamed, turning to
try to pound his head, do anything to make him drop her. “But I won’t be part
of your insane plan to turn us into killers for hire.”

More than just Raul and his littermates chased them, and she
wasn’t sure they were all running to help her. It would be a bloodbath. They
wouldn’t have to worry about humans. They would destroy themselves.

“There will be no opposition to our plan. This isn’t a
fucking democracy,” Devon growled, pinching his nasty fingers painfully into
her skin as he continued running.

Her hair flew over her eyes. She twisted again in spite of
Devon practically squeezing the life out of her with his powerful biceps. When
she looked up through watery vision, fighting to see through strands of hair
that hindered her vision, not even the darkness blocked her view of Raul’s
hardened look. He was so close she could reach out and touch him.

And she tried. Devon actually managed to run faster when
they hit the incline. And if he gripped her any harder, he would break ribs.

Where the hell were they going? Into the mountains? If so,
possibly she could escape in her fur. Racing over the rocks and losing him
would be a hell of a lot easier than outrunning him on flat ground in the
valley.

Others obviously thought the same thing. In spite of the
dark, and her hair falling over her face, she spotted several drop to all fours
behind her and leap onto the rocks as their torn clothing fell to the ground
around them. There was no way of knowing if they were trying to help rescue her
or assist Devon, knowing she would be more agile on the rocks since she was
smaller and lighter than he was.

There wasn’t any way to free her hands and move her hair from
her face. She tried until she was sure she would break her own bones if she
continued. But staring into Raul’s determined expression as he raced behind
them, confusion warred with fear inside her. Raul was honor-bound. If anyone
risked being killed, he would fight to save them. No matter who they were. As
much as she wanted to believe he raced to protect her because he cared for her,
doubt still plagued her.

Devon leapt onto a rock, and she lost sight of Raul. “No,”
she screamed, and then felt air leave her lungs when he jumped again and her
middle crushed down against his shoulder. “Raul,” she cried, although she
doubted anyone heard her.

A large black shadow leapt over the top of them. Angela
barely noticed it before it flew out of her line of vision. She twisted
furiously, enduring the piercing pain that ransacked her body from the urge to
change and the restriction of Devon’s arm crushing her midsection. Breathing
was almost impossible.

Devon came to a quick stop, almost throwing her forward. At
the same time Raul slammed into Devon’s backside. Angela felt the pain of the
scream as it wrenched from her throat. Hands were on her, yanking her from
Devon’s arms.

Devon stumbled forward, cursing loudly. At the same time, a
jaguar screamed its outrage. Angela could barely turn around as she was sprung
free from her human prison.

“Don’t change until I tell you to,” Raul ordered into her
ear.

She wasn’t able to meet his gaze. He shoved her into Ran’s
arms and pushed past her, pouncing on Devon so quickly the large man fell hard
into the jaguar in front of him. Skin and fur tangled as rumbling growls and
human screams filled the air.

They were barely up the mountain, with no clear path, just
rocks jutting out of the earth everywhere. The ground wasn’t even, and on two
legs, keeping balance was distracting if not damn near impossible, especially
when her legs quivered worse than a newborn cub’s.

Angela lunged forward, forgetting about Ran until he pulled
her back against him. “Stay put,” he whispered in her ear, although his hold on
her wasn’t half as punishing as Devon’s had been. “Everything will be okay. I
promise.”

She shoved her hair out of her face and gulped in the frigid
night air. It was the first time it dawned on her how cold it was outside. Even
with Ran’s warm body pressed against her backside, it was suddenly so cold that
she shivered uncontrollably.

Ran wrapped both his arms around her. “Don’t worry. Raul
will be triumphant. He always is when he fights for something that matters to
him. And you matter a lot to him.”

She shifted, glancing over her shoulder and up at his strong
profile. “Trust me,” he said, not looking down at her.

She turned her head back to the fight, which grew with
intensity by the minute. Did Ran know what he was talking about? She couldn’t
picture Raul discussing her with his littermates, but they were close. Not
anything like her and Natasha.

Ran rubbed her arms, and she worried he sensed her unstable
emotions. There was nothing worse than someone viewing her as anything but
strong.

But emotions poured into the air, angry and violent. It was
hard to say whose emotions were the strongest. Everyone was tense, ready to
drop to all fours if needed. Some already had. And the fight in front of her
was a mess of black fur and furious howls.

Devon changed, his clothes ripping off his body when he
turned into a large black jaguar. Raul didn’t hesitate but ripped his shirt off
and quickly unzipped his jeans.

Angela struggled against Ran. “Let me get his clothes,” she
cried, twisting in his arms until he let her go.

The second she grabbed them, Ran lifted her backward, once
again tucking her in closely against him.

Rafe shifted from foot to foot. “If that motherfucker drops
one bit of blood from my litter, I’ll rip his throat out.”

Jaguars didn’t fight in packs. They were lone killers, and
one of the deadliest beasts on the planet. Her kind could shatter a skull with
their jaw, clamping down and ending a life with one powerful bite. In spite of
feeling confident Raul would triumph over the larger jaguar, who was older and
stockier, there were many surrounding them.

Would they jump in and attack once Devon fell?

Raul moved quickly and effectively, leaping on Devon and
screaming his warning seconds before his long, deadly teeth flashed in the
darkness. What moonlight there was flashed against the white incisors moments
before they sank into flesh. Their black fur and the dark shadows made it
impossible to see who hit the ground first. But the crash of bodies against the
rocks shook the side of the mountain.

Raul raised his head. Devon lay still on the ground. The
metallic smell of blood filled the air. Raul’s green eyes scanned everyone
surrounding them, and the moment of silence didn’t last long enough. Someone
leapt to the ground from a perch above them and sent Raul rolling down the
rocks.

“No!” Angela screamed, freeing herself from Ran and running
into Rafe’s backside.

“We follow his orders,” Rafe hissed, grabbing Angela before
she could scurry past him and jump in to help Raul. “Let’s go, now!”

Angela didn’t understand. And Ran turned, meeting his
brother’s gaze with a worried look that turned Angela’s stomach upside-down.

“What orders?” she asked, her mouth suddenly so dry the
words barely squeaked out. “He didn’t give me any orders.”

“He’ll follow us.” Ran almost made it sound more like a
question.

“You know he will.” Rafe sounded confident and already
dragged Angela away from the others and deep into the shadows where larger
rocks made the ground even more uneven.

“What are you talking about?” She struggled to free herself.
“He might need our help.”

“No one in Colony can outfight Raul.” Rafe’s confidence
increased, and at the same time, he dragged her around a corner of rocks and
heaved both of them up to another ledge.

But all of Colony fighting against him, if that were to
happen…

She didn’t want to think about it. And she didn’t get why
Rafe continued to pull her away from the others.

“What are you doing?” She turned, pushing against his chest
until she was free. “You wouldn’t fight to save your own littermate?”

But the moment she turned, Ran grabbed her arms and pulled
her into a tight embrace. When she struggled, he clasped his hand over her
mouth.

“Don’t bite, little cat,” he whispered, continuing to move
with Rafe.

Were they both insane? Their litter didn’t strike her as one
who would turn on their own. And Raul needed them. She let her teeth grow and
tried biting his hand. Ran grabbed her hair and held her tighter, giving her a
firm shake.

“Raul told both of us that if Colony turned on our litter,
we were to take you and run to the next mountain south of us. There aren’t any
humans there. We wait for him there. He’ll join us soon.”

His words didn’t sink in, and they made no sense. Why would
they run to the next mountain? And who said Colony turned against them?

“He never said anything about this to me.” She continued
struggling, baffled by their behavior. She doubted she was heard with her mouth
covered and when she tried biting, they moved out of her way but kept a firm
grip.

No matter how hard she struggled, Ran and Rafe kept her with
them and moved faster than she thought they would be able to with her
protesting until they were at the top of the mountain. Angela could only watch,
speechless, when Ran slowed, leapt up on some large rocks and disappeared only
to appear a moment later with a large, very-well-stuffed backpack. Rafe stood
next to Angela, the two of them watching as Ran adjusted the straps on his
shoulders and situated the stuffed backpack in the middle of his back. Rafe
stepped forward, helping until they had the pack secure. Without even a growl,
they turned to continue their journey, as if this short respite to grab what
she could only guess were supplies had been a well-planned-out part of their
run. They didn’t slow as they descended down the other side. As the darkness
increased and the silence around them grew, Angela kept looking over her
shoulder. But she didn’t see anyone. No one followed them from Colony. And Raul
wasn’t anywhere in sight. There were only the smells of the three of them.

“Don’t worry. He will find you.” Ran brushed her hair from
her face and loosened his grip on her.

“I don’t get you two.” They were too far from Colony by now.
If she ran from them, in her flesh or fur, they would catch her. “When did Raul
make this plan you keep mentioning?”

“This morning, before he went to get you,” Rafe said without
looking at her.

“He predicted all of this would happen this morning?” And
obviously he was that confident she would go with his litter.

“It was clear terrible things were about to happen with
Colony.” This time Rafe did look at her. “We would have left sooner, but he was
determined to get you.”

She was silent for a moment. “He’s talked to you two about
me?” she finally found the nerve to ask.

Rafe simply snorted.

“Angela, Raul’s loved you for years.” Ran’s words sliced
straight to her heart.

If he died because of these two, she would see to their
deaths herself.

They leapt at him from every direction. Worse than cubs who
were eager to pounce and fight, these were adults with claws fully extended and
teeth bared for the kill. Raul threw one after the other to the side, flinging
them like limp meat. He struck, sank his teeth deep into warm flesh and
released. One after another.

And it was wrong. So damn fucking wrong. Half of Colony
would die tonight. And for what? Greed? Craving something that would never
happen? Or was it simply the blood lust running rampant, the urge to kill
lodged deep inside them surfacing, burning with fever and making them all crazed?

There was only one way to stop it.

In the madness, he didn’t know where Angela was. His
littermates would obey him though. They were honor-bound, just like him, and
understood when he laid down the law. Rafe and Ran would protect Angela, and he
would join them soon.

Leaping in the air to meet his latest challenger, Raul
grabbed the male by his neck, making the puncture quick and merciful. The
male’s artery gave way against his teeth. Blood poured over Raul’s tongue,
clinging to his fur and filling the air with its fresh, pungent, metallic
smell.

Raul threw the body and it landed against several other
members of Colony. Everyone was in their fur, and the growls and heavy paws
prancing over rock were louder than a fucking avalanche.

He lunged and stopped in front of several of them.
Is
human money worth dying for?
he growled.

Raul stared into their cold and disillusioned eyes. Raising
his head, he dared the next one to approach but wouldn’t attack. It was time to
wash the blood from his paws and his coat.

It’s not my place to tell you what to do. Live with your
dishonor, but it won’t be mine.
He curled his lip, staring into cold glares
of those he once called friends.

Raul and his litter would have nothing to do with killing
humans, earning their money by shedding blood. This wasn’t the way of the
jaguar, never had been. No matter the century or how modern times were, Raul
would live by the same means his sire and sire before him lived. Off the land.
The strongest surviving.

He growled again, shifting his gaze from one to another.
These were males and females he’d grown up with, hunted with, laughed with. But
it was time to leave them and their demise. When no one else approached him,
Raul turned slowly and began climbing the mountain.

It didn’t surprise him no one followed.

There were injuries. Raul worked his way up the mountain,
knowing his littermates and Angela would be a good distance ahead of him.
Anxious to catch up, he put some muscle into his efforts. Before he reached the
top of the mountain, pain lanced down his right shoulder and into his front
leg. The black-velvet sky surrounded him when he reached a wide cliff and
stared ahead of him. He took a break in his trek, sitting on the flat rock that
held just the slightest of inclines.

A long incision ran from his chest down his front leg. There
was another puncture wound, which had hit dangerously close to his left lung.
But close didn’t matter. As it was, the wound was simply an irritation. And
other than a few additional scrapes, it appeared he would live.

What hurt more than the lacerations and puncture wounds was
the intense heaviness weighing down inside him when he thought about Colony.
The place was no more for him and his littermates—or for Angela.

Angela.

The years he waited for her, allowing her to come into
maturity, enjoy her youth. He never stopped her from sniffing around other
males, or other males from sniffing around her. Not once did he interfere while
she changed from the hot teenage female into a sultry young jaguar.

If greed and deceit hadn’t destroyed their home, Raul would
have handled matters with Angela differently, given her time to get to know
him, showered her with his kill and won her heart. As it was, he prayed with
time she would love him as much as he loved her.

I did the right thing.
Raul growled, silencing the
birds that flew overhead, and pulled his attention away from the thick
blackness in the sky. He licked his wounds, cleaning them thoroughly and
feeling the weight of exhaustion swell in his muscles. No matter his sudden
desire to curl up against the rocks and sleep for a few hours, he needed to get
to Angela.

He finished cleaning his wounds and forced himself to stand.
He ached. His injuries burned. For a moment his vision blurred. But if he
waited much longer, slept, or even rested, it would be harder to track the
three of them.

Raul leapt from the ledge where he took his respite and
landed easily onto the next large boulder. His muscles screamed in protest but
he didn’t slow his pace. Angela was safe with Ran and Rafe. His littermates
would kill to protect her and die ensuring her safety. In turn, he would take
care of all of them. It’s what he did. It was what he would always do.

* * * * *

Angela ran on red alert. The cold, night mountain air
chilled deep into her bones. She didn’t argue when Ran and Rafe stripped out of
their clothes and dropped to all fours. They would be a hell of a lot warmer in
their fur.

And they covered a hell of a lot more distance on four legs
instead of two. Angela put speed into it. Instinct demanded it. Not only did
she run over land foreign to her, but she ran with two single males. The
knowledge prickled over her skin, keeping her tense and far from cold. Ran and
Rafe would protect her, and she would willingly fight to save their lives. They
were Raul’s littermates.

They said he loved her. Something inside her stirred at the
thought. Was it love? She’d always admired Raul, fantasized about him. But all
this was so sudden. She wasn’t sure what it was she felt.

When they reached a plateau lodged between two mountains,
Angela started worrying Raul wouldn’t be able to find them. Mountain creeks
swelled in places, the bubbling water roaring as it rushed past them,
indifferent to their plight. The water would wash out their scent and possibly
throw Raul off on which way they headed.

They slowed, sniffing the air and taking in their
surroundings. Angela also picked up on their curiosity and lust, although she
couldn’t tell which one of them released the scent.

How dare you dishonor your littermate,
she growled,
lowering her head and glaring at both of them.
He fought so we could escape
and is probably injured. If you have an interest in me, you tell him about it,
not me. Take me on without him here and I’ll kick your ass.

Rafe straightened, raising his head and looking down at her
with glowing green eyes. Ran carried the backpack on his back, which held their
clothes and apparently a few other items from the way it bulged in places. He
slowly swished his tail, looking ready to accept her challenge. She wouldn’t
rely on Rafe to defend her if Ran decided it was time to play.

She turned and ran from them, keeping close to the bubbling
water. They were both right behind her, and surprisingly, neither one tried to
mount her when she stopped by a fallen tree.

Perfect. Hopefully Raul would be able to follow their scent
this way. Knowing she weighed the lightest, she wasn’t the best candidate to
run over the huge trunk that created a makeshift bridge first. But at the same
time, her size wouldn’t collapse the trunk and make it so the other two
couldn’t cross.

Angela stepped forward then jumped to the side when Rafe
leapt at her and growled.

What the fuck?
She cringed at the sign of her
startled howl. These males weren’t going to tell her what to do. Quickly
raising her head, she took a step closer to the fallen trunk.

You’re not going first!
His spitting hiss, mixed with
a nasty rumbling growl, made his point clear. He leapt at her and would have
knocked her sideways if she didn’t jump out of his way. And away from the
fallen log.

Ran stepped forward, making it so she would have to move
around him or plow into him to get back to the trunk. Rafe then moved to the
makeshift bridge and stepped onto it.

She watched the water rush underneath and the wood shift under
his weight. It appeared to have been there for a while and was possibly used by
other animals that made this hidden plateau their home. Either way, Angela
didn’t realize she held her breath until he was halfway across and the sound of
wood cracking forced the air out of her lungs.

Ran didn’t stop her when she hurried to the edge of the
bank. He was right there next to her. She smelled his fear and felt the sudden
urge to step into him, brush her body against his and assure him with her touch
his littermate would be fine. Before she stopped herself, Angela moved closer
to him. The look on his face, with his green eyes wide and his mouth open,
although he didn’t pant, was enough to tell her what he thought of water.
Taking a shower or hot bath in human form was one thing. But large bodies of
water in general didn’t appeal to jaguars, especially in their fur.

There. He made it.
Her rumble, deep in her throat,
made Ran swish his tail. He pushed against her, a friendly, happy action,
although when her gaze met his, the shade of his eyes darkened.

I’m next,
she told him, her growl short and quick as
she moved around him and headed to the log.

Ran didn’t stop her and she jumped onto the log, instantly
feeling it move slightly underneath her and balancing herself before continuing
across the water. Sprays of water jumped up to sink into her fur around her
ankles and legs as she kept a steady pace and walked over the trunk. She kept
her focus on the other side, watching Rafe’s attentive face come into focus as
she got closer.

She heard the slapping of water against rocks and her heart
jumped. In the dark, it was harder to tell how close the water was underneath
her. Which probably made this an easier journey.

She prayed Raul wouldn’t have too rough a go of it if he didn’t
reach this spot before daybreak. Jumping to the other side, she shook her fur,
drying off after being sprayed with the cold mountain water. Rafe’s large, warm
body pressed against hers and he ran his thick, long tongue down the length of
her neck. He looked away quickly when she backed up and focused on his face.

Already Ran hurried across the fallen log toward them.

Shit. Don’t be an idiot and fall off the damn thing.
Angela
focused on Ran and ignored Rafe as she growled.

Ran didn’t look down. He didn’t look to either side. He was
a large, black force moving closer and closer over the water in the dark. The
roar of the water seemed to grow louder when she noticed the log shift against
the bank in front of her.

Hurry. Hurry.
The rumbles emerging from Rafe seemed
to encourage his younger littermate.

There wasn’t any way Ran heard him though. His green eyes
bobbed in the darkness and Angela saw his tail jerk at odd angles as he
struggled to keep his balance. The log shifted again, rolling just a bit. Maybe
no more than an inch. But it was enough.

Angela hissed, every muscle in her body tensing when Ran
rolled to the side with the log. The water underneath him seemed to roar
faster. Ran howled, digging his claws into the log and holding on, when
suddenly he appeared to be running sideways on the log as it rolled and the end
of it moved on the bank.

Don’t use your claws!
she howled furiously, jumping
to the edge of the bank and bouncing against the side of Rafe when he hurried
forward with her.
Keep moving forward and don’t slice the damn thing in
half!
she roared.

Rafe leapt on the end of the log and steadied it, although
the sound of splitting wood turned Angela’s insides to ice. She shook with
nervous anticipation as she hurried to Rafe’s side, willing Ran to be closer to
them. He looked up at them, his body curled over the top of the log, and the
fear and panic in his eyes made her shiver.

Keep moving.
Rafe’s low growl sounded like Raul for a
moment.

Angela looked at him quickly, but although his body brushed
against hers, all of his attention was on Ran. His fierce profile brought an
image of Raul to mind. If Ran destroyed the log, Raul wouldn’t be able to
cross. But then if Ran fell into the water, they would all get soaked
retrieving him. Just thinking about the possibility she might have to save
Ran’s ass by jumping into the freezing water made her insides churn. She would
do it. But damn—she hated water.

And if they spent much more time here, maybe Raul would
catch up with them.

She shifted her attention to Ran, not taking time to scan
the darkness around them. Ran once again stood, his eyes wide and glowing as he
focused on them and started moving closer. He froze when the wood split. Angela
couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. The log that was lodged into the ground in
front of her split in two.

Part of it rose out of the earth, its jagged edges like
knives, reaching out to slice whatever it could reach. She jumped,
instinctively growling when momentarily it looked like a grotesque beast,
trying to get out of the water and attack whoever disturbed it.

Jump!
she screamed, the sound of her own voice
echoing off the cliffs and steep rocky inclines surrounding the plateau.

Now!
Rafe roared next to her, his deeper baritone
adding to the chorus reverberating around them.

Ran leaped into the air, and Angela looked up, frozen
momentarily while silently urging his body to stretch farther, remain airborne
longer, until finally she regained control of her senses and darted to the side
to avoid being crushed.

Ran rolled to the ground, fiercely howling and hissing as
his large body shook the ground. Angela was overwhelmed with relief. She jumped
onto Ran, licking and purring as the tension and stress of the moment quickly
faded. She cleaned his cheeks, his neck, his shoulders before realizing she
straddled him like a mother would her cub and ensured with each stroke his body
was still intact.