Wild Cat

“You got it,” Xavier said. The phone clicked, and he was gone. Another thing Diego loved about his little brother was that Xavier acted first, asked questions later.

Diego calculated that it would take Xavier half an hour to load up and get out here, and that was if he hurried. Meanwhile…

The hunter was still in the rocks. Diego shot at him again, rewarded with another bullet whizzing by him. When Diego dared lift his head again, he used the rifle scope to scan the area.

He saw a slinking form of one wildcat approaching the rocks from the left, but he couldn’t tell which wildcat it was. The scope picked up another slinking form, closing in on the hunter from the other side. This wildcat was larger—possibly Eric. Then a giant, hulking form of a bear. Damn, it was big.

A couple more wildcats and then a wolf crept out of the shadows to join them. The animals circled the outcropping in a perfect pincher move, coming at the shooter from all sides to pen him in. Diego let fly another shot to keep the hunter busy.

The wildcats, bear, and wolf moved in beautiful formation. The animals couldn’t communicate in words, had nothing to go on but instinct and visual cues. Yet they maneuvered like a well-oiled team, exactly anticipating each other’s moves. Diego could work like that with Xavier, had been able to work like that with Jobe.

Eric and the wolf slunk the last ten yards and lowered themselves, disappearing from Diego’s sight. The bear moved slowly behind the rocks and it too disappeared. The cats moved in the other direction, hugging the ground, readying themselves to spring.

Diego trained the scope on the hunter again. The heat signature around the guy had grown larger, much larger. A second person? Diego saw no sign of anyone else, just the man with the rifle who suddenly seemed very hot.

The heat bubble exploded, flooding green through the scope. Diego jerked away, blinking. At the same time, the animals let out snarls—the bear roaring—and charged.

Diego gave up his cover and scrambled down the hill. He’d have to stop the Shifters from ripping the guy apart, though Diego would be happy to slap cuffs on whoever it was in there. He’d charge him with illegally hunting Collared Shifters, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at a police officer, and—if this was the same hunter that had been at the construction site—tranqing Jemez and Hooper and nearly causing Diego’s death. This would be fun.

The deep roar of the bear boomed up and down the mountain and vibrated the moonlit sky. His roar was answered by the deep growls of a wildcat and the howl of a wolf. Diego ran faster.

He reached the outcropping the hunter had been using as a blind, took cover behind a massive boulder, and trained his pistol on the interior. “Drop your weapon, and get on the ground. Now.”

Nothing happened.

The wildcats came out from behind the rocks, Cassidy with muzzle pressed to the ground, sniffing, sniffing. The bear shambled around from the side of the outcropping, the biggest damn grizzly Diego had ever seen.

Eric’s head was up, his leopard eyes white with rage. Sparks chased around the Collar on his massive neck. The wolf sat on his haunches, looking angry.

Diego risked a look inside the rock shelter. It was empty, the mud inside smooth, no sign of anyone having been there.

CHAPTER SIX

Xavier came roaring up in his F-250 as Diego climbed down to the road. Dirt and gravel shot into the air as Xavier braked, then he leapt out of his truck. Xavier spied Diego flanked by two wildcats and a bear, and stopped, a shotgun resting loosely in his hands.

“All clear,” Diego said as he hiked the last few feet to the road.

Xavier didn’t raise the shotgun, but he kept it handy and looked hard at the Shifters.

“These are Cassidy and Eric Warden,” Diego said, jerking his thumb at the wildcats. “And their neighbor, Brody. I need to give them a ride home.”

Xavier warily eyed the bear. “That’s a frigging grizzly, Diego.”

“I know.”

Xavier raised his brows, then caught what was in Diego’s expression and shrugged. “OK.”

Cassidy chose that moment to change into her tall, lithe, human form. Xavier’s eyes widened, and Diego stepped protectively in front of her.

“Stop ogling and get her a blanket.”

Xavier blinked at his older brother in surprise, then he grinned hard. Still carrying the shotgun, Xavier stepped to Diego’s car and pulled out a blanket.

Cassidy wrapped the scratchy wool around her, not missing how Diego had tried to hide her from Xavier’s gaze. Mates did that, instinctively, protecting their females from other male Shifters, but Cassidy knew Diego had not done it for any mate reason. He was thinking like a human, believing Cassidy would worry about Xavier seeing her without clothing.

Xavier was Diego’s brother all right. He stood the same height as Diego, had the same square, handsome face, broad shoulders, and black hair—though Xavier wore his a little longer—and eyes so dark it was like looking at midnight. They had the same stance, the same way of moving.

What kept the younger man from being a twin of the older was that he smiled more readily, moved more rapidly. Diego had learned to hone his energy while Xavier was still being ruled by his.

Eric padded calmly to the pile of clothes he’d left in the dirt, shifted while Xavier’s eyes widened again, and dressed himself. Brody, instead of shifting, turned and walked heavily back into the darkness.

“Where’s he going?” Xavier asked.

“To meet up with the others and get home,” Eric answered. “He’s shy about shifting in front of people.”