“I’m so in over my head,” she whispered to the dawn. “I want to stay more than anything I’ve ever done, but I’m not prepared for this place.” It was an admission of sadness. She’d studied and worked hard, interned all over the world just so she could come home and be of use to her people and the animals that inhabited the forest.
Still, as much as she wanted to make up her mind decisively, she thought it would be wise to sleep before completely making her decision. She’d spent days traveling to get there, and she was exhausted. Sarika pulled on a long tee she often slept in and dragged up the cover before dropping the mosquito netting around the hammock. As a rule, she wasn’t bothered by insects, but she thought it prudent just in case. She wanted a good night’s sleep so she would have every brain cell working when she made her decision.
The sounds of the day were far different from the night, but she was so exhausted she fell asleep almost immediately.
She had no idea if it was minutes or hours later when she woke to a growly male voice calling her name. Instantly, her heart began to pound with alarm. Clutching the blanket to her, she sat up slowly and looked carefully around.
“Sarika.” There was a demand in that voice. Impatience. A clear warning.
Now was the time to believe in her cousin’s word. Danger prowled outside the tree house in the form of Percy Rios. Forcing calm through deep breathing, she got up slowly to help orient herself and went to her pack to pull out clean clothes. The bath had definitely helped with the aches from traveling. Her internal clock, one that had always been fairly accurate, told her it was nearly six in the evening. She had managed to sleep most of the day.
Entering the kitchen, she ignored the demands coming from around the house. Percy was circling it, looking for a way in. The fact that hehadn’t already breached Luiz’s home went a long way to easing the tension in her. She made herself a cup of tea. She always carried her favorite tea with her, something she found soothing at the beginning and end of the day. Wrapping her hands around the cup, she made her way into the main living area so she could look over the short walls to observe Percy.
The male shifter appeared very agitated. Twice he banged his fist on what appeared to be a transparent wall. Transparent for her, she remembered, but Luiz had said no one would be able to see in. She was beginning to think her cousin knew what he was talking about. It was strange to go into a room with a low wall where she could see the extensive deck and massive tree limbs where Percy prowled back and forth, but even looking straight at her, he didn’t appear to be able to see her.
No jaguar could do that. The ability had to come from Luiz’s Carpathian side. She didn’t understand exactly what he was talking about, but she knew no one should have that kind of power. No one. If they did, sooner or later, power corrupted. She believed that. She’d seen it in every corner of the world. Just talking with Luiz, it was apparent he wouldn’t take no for an answer if he believed he was right. Even if he did know exactly what he was talking about and she didn’t, he had no right to make decisions for her—and he had. If the power he’d displayed was because he was a Carpathian, she knew she would never fit into that world.
Percy snarled again and again, slamming his fist against the transparent wall. Then suddenly his voice turned soothing. Pleading. “Sarika, you can’t trust Luiz. Let me help you. He’s locked you in, and you’re his prisoner. Can’t you see that?”
She hadn’t tried leaving, and she wouldn’t with Percy prowling back and forth on the deck, but what if Percy was telling her the truth? That Luiz had closed her inside, and she thought she was secure and protected, but she really was a prisoner. Not that she wanted anything to do with Percy or would ever trust him.
She sipped her tea and watched the jaguar male become even more agitated. Several times he threw daggerlike looks over his shoulder as he shook his head. She set her teacup down and stepped closer to the half wall. Something—or someone—else was out there with Percy. She couldn’t see who or what, but she knew the shifter male wasn’t alone.
Sarika forced her breathing and heart rate under control. There was no way in hell she was staying in the rainforest. She didn’t trust any of these men. Percy wasn’t there to save her, and he wasn’t alone. She suspected there was more than one male shifter waiting for her to emerge. And Luiz…She had no idea what Luiz wanted from her, but she was certain he had an agenda she wasn’t going to like.
She had always trusted her instincts, and they were screaming at her to run. To get out. She might have to rely on herself to make her way out of the jungle back to the river. Her jaguar could easily do that. That would mean she would have to make it past the jaguar shifters and find a way to stay ahead of Luiz. The man could fly, which meant he would be far faster than she was. If, for some reason, she was his prisoner, she needed to figure out a way to leave, especially while he was in the ground. She didn’t trust anyone in the rainforest. Not a single person.
A child’s scream suddenly penetrated her thoughts, and she hastily rushed to the low half wall to try to see into the forest. She heard an unfamiliar male shout, and Percy whirled and leapt from the wraparound porch. The child screamed again, this time calling for help.
Sarika forced herself to slow down and replay the sound. Was it a legitimate cry of a child, or was someone mimicking a child? She was certain it was a female. Very young.
“All right, baby, we’ll figure this out.” There was no way she could stay safe in the tree house if the jaguar males had kidnapped a child.
Chapter
6
Sarika assessed her advantages and disadvantages as she made her way through the forest using the arboreal highway. She stayed in human form but wore breakaway clothes and had a small bundle secured around her neck containing leggings and a long tee. She had made it through Luiz’s safeguards, or whatever he called them, more easily than she had anticipated.
She’d felt a slight wrenching, a wave of distortion, that sent a feeling of nausea to the pit of her stomach, but it quickly passed. Whatever the safeguards were, they were there to keep others out, not her in. That gave her the tiniest hope that her cousin was really on her side.
Luiz had said he could come to her at sunset, that he was locked in the ground until then. Since he’d told her the truth about the safeguards, she would believe him about his inability to move before sunset. That left her on her own to try to rescue the crying child. A female for sure.
The little her cousin had told her about the fall of the jaguar shifter species had left her appalled and shaken. She wanted nothing to do with the male shifters, especially not the one she’d met. She didn’t trust him at all. Luiz had warned him off, but the moment he knew Luiz was out of the picture, he’d come sneaking around.
Sarika knew she might have to try to summon Luiz. He wouldn’t be happy with her after he’d gone to all the trouble of ensuring her safety and warning her to stay inside. She was fully prepared for the consequences if she managed to save a child. Of course, she had no idea what the consequences might entail. She didn’t want Luiz to ever take her blood again. Not ever. She felt very firm on that stance.
One of her greatest assets was her ability to feel her surroundings and read the energy of every living creature in close proximity. At least, it had been, until she met her cousin. She hadn’t been able to read him. She still trusted her instincts, and right now, she was heading on an unerring path straight to the child and the male shifters confronting her.
Her main disadvantage was that her jaguar had never been in a real fight against another jaguar, particularly a male. Experience counted. But she also knew the males would be very reluctant to injure her too badly if the plan was to kidnap her. Needless to say, she wasn’t about to be taken by a mob of males and subjected to what sounded like rape. That meant timing and being extremely careful were important.
As she ran lightly along one branch after another, she sent out waves of calming energy to assure the forest sentinels that she meant them no harm. She’d always been good at connecting with animals—another asset. But her absolutely greatest asset was her voice. She could sound as if she were coming from any direction, which would help keep her position hidden. More than that, her voice was compelling. She had to find the perfect wavelength that each person—or animal—responded to, and then she could subtly influence them.
Her voice wasn’t a huge gift, the way she suspected Luiz’s was. That was one of the reasons she found herself so uneasy around him. Sheneverused her gifts for personal gain, only for the safety of herself and others. That didn’t mean she hadn’t practiced often to strengthen her abilities. She had. She was very disciplined, and she made it a habit to work on her skills all the time.
Voices became louder, filtering through the trees. She was fairly high up, the dense canopy hiding her as she approached the confrontation below. A powerfully built man had his hand wrapped around the arm of a squirming child, easily pinning her to him while his attention was centered on a beautiful woman who faced him. One of her hands was up, palm out, as if trying to pacify him. She looked terrified but determined.
Another very muscular man circled around behind the woman, his movements stealthy. Sarika recognized the smooth craftiness of a shifter. He didn’t make any noise, and the slight breeze was blowing toward him, not away. She doubted if the woman was aware of him. There was something about the second man that struck a note of fear in her. The way he moved. His absolute stealth. The way his energy, despite the situation, remained so low it was nearly undetectable.
