“What was that?”

“A distress call. Our males will respond if they are nearby.”

They both listened. Shadow watched Breeze. Her hearing might not be as disrupted as his. She shook her head, worry returning. Shit, she mouthed.

He had to agree. A howl suddenly rent the air and both of them felt relief. Breeze lowered her gun and grinned. “We’ve got help.”

He hesitated to rise from the floor, not sure if it was safe yet. Minutes passed before something crashed through the bullet-hole riddled door. The male was barely dressed in only a pair of cutoff shorts with a mass of hair that honestly reminded Shadow of a lion’s mane.

“Leo.” Breeze grinned.

The male glanced around and held Shadow’s gaze for a second before rushing to Breeze. He knelt, sniffing at her, and gently removed her hand from the wound. He threw back his head, roaring.

Shadow winced. There was no doubt the male was part feline even without seeing his eyes and facial features. He recognized him as the male he’d seen at the river hunting a female lion. Shadow got to his feet and charged toward the stairs to check on Beauty.

“Are the humans all dead?” Shadow hoped so.

“They ran away. We were being shot at or could have reached you sooner.” Leo forced Breeze down to lay flat on her back, growling when she protested. “Stay still, female! You’re bleeding.”

Another Species male rushed inside the room before Shadow could get upstairs. Blood ran down his neck. The sight stopped Shadow in his tracks. “Are you okay?”

Torrent turned his head, shoving back his hair to show a bloody ear. “A sniper nearly took off my head. They had a few of them perched in the treetops that kept us pinned inside a ravine about a mile from here. Once they moved, we came this way and I sent a few of the males to get help.” He glanced at Breeze, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Through and through,” she responded. “Don’t touch my breast, Leo. The wound is down here.”

“Just checking them,” the male countered and chuckled.

Flesh smacking flesh sounded.

“Stop molesting me.” Breeze growled.

Shadow spun away and rushed up the stairs. “Beauty!”

She didn’t answer. Panic hit that she’d been shot too. The bathtub was empty so he rushed into her room. Discarded weapons were on the floor, some still lined up as if they hadn’t been used. The window was shattered, curtains torn, and there were holes in the wall and ceiling above it. He spun and rushed toward his room. Torrent was in the hallway blocking his path. He just pushed the male out of the way.

The sight of the window kicked out and a rope swaying in the open space made him snarl. He lunged forward, grabbed it and looked down. Beauty was gone. He threw back his head, howling. He was out the window before he even checked to make sure the rope could take his weight. Someone had stolen Beauty. That’s why they’d stopped attacking. The mercenaries had taken her from the cabin.

He landed on his feet hard, pain shot up both legs but he swept the ground with his gaze, hunting for sign as he released the rope. Heavy footprints were easy to spot, two sets, one deeper than the other. No smaller tracks were visible. One of them had to be carrying Beauty. He barely registered the fact that Torrent dropped next to him, also using the rope to soften his landing.

“They took her.”

“I know,” Shadow snarled. “They won’t get far.”

A gunshot cracked from the south. Shadow’s heart stopped. That single shot could mean a lot of bad things. One being that the mercenaries had been given orders to murder Beauty. They’d want to do it in person, perhaps video it for their client or take the head from her body as proof of assassination. The human who’d owned her might want her dead to prevent her from ever identifying him if he were brought to Justice.

He sprinted in that direction, rage spurring him on. He didn’t care if the mercenaries outnumbered him or how heavily they were armed. He just needed to reach Beauty. Alive or dead, they weren’t taking any part of her near the human who’d abused her.

Torrent followed. He heard the male’s harsh breathing as they lunged past trees, jumped over rocks, and sniffed the air, trying to pick up her scent. He caught it, barely, and kept going. The stench of fresh blood made him snarl as he rushed around a grouping of bushes.

A mercenary lay on the ground, holding his thigh with both hands. Blood soaked his leg and the ground as the male groaned in pain. Shadow registered the wound and the missing gun from an empty holster, hope flaring instantly that Beauty had been the one to shoot the son of a bitch.

He dropped to the ground near the guy, disarming him quickly, and just shoved aside the male’s hands. The mercenary’s expression, hazed with agony, met his. Rage burned brighter as Shadow gripped the wound, purposely using his thumb to dig into it. The male screamed.

“Where is she?” Shadow snarled, ready to tear the male apart. He could smell her on the guy.

The mercenary writhed on the ground but managed to point. Shadow was on his feet and moving in the next breath. “Kill the f**ker if he moves,” he ordered Torrent over his shoulder.

He spotted a broken stem where Beauty had fled. Heavy tracks marred the softer ones she’d made. Someone had chased her. He was close. Her terrified, sweet scent lingered in the air. He was grateful it wasn’t windy as he followed her more by scent than by the tracks on the ground.

Beauty knew the man was gaining ground. His ragged breathing seemed right at her back. Her leg muscles burned and she was tiring fast. She spun, lifted the gun, and tried to aim. He was so close she actually hit him with it. She pulled the trigger, gasping, too out of breath to scream.