Jaguars possessed honor.
Angela despised jaguars who turned their heads from the ways of their kind and disrespected their traditions. And she hated even more being put on the spot and forced to make a decision without being given time to weigh both sides.
He never even asked her if she wanted to be his mate. Now what the hell should she do?
Chapter Three
Raul moved slowly down the mountain, watching Angela as she hurried in front of him. Her emotions warred inside her, and he’d give her space to deal with them. If there were another way, a better way, no female deserved it more than Angela.
But after what he’d learned, the despicable plans a handful of jaguars were carrying out, it was time to leave. He wouldn’t be dishonored by their actions. And contacting humans, becoming mercenaries, killing for profit instead of caring about a victory, was just about the most humiliating act there was.
He and his littermates would take care of Angela. She was the only one in Colony besides his brothers who mattered to him.
“Angela.” They reached the bottom of the mountain, with the sun now rising enough to make her long black hair sparkle.
“What?” She turned, her cheeks flushed from all the emotions he smelled on her.
“You’re going back to my place. We’ll discuss our plans once we get there.”
She licked her lips, lowering her gaze to his chest before tilting her head defiantly. “Discuss things, huh?”
He cleared the distance between them and pulled her head back by her hair. “Unless you’d rather do something else,” he growled.
Her eyes widened. He watched her teeth sharpen slightly while her green eyes smoldered as her temper flared.
“I’d rather you learn I can make my own decisions.” She struggled in his arms until he let her go then leapt to the next boulder before racing away from him.
Raul followed her, but not fast enough to catch her. Not that he couldn’t. He let her run back to Colony. Now to inform his littermates.
Ran and Rafe didn’t like what they were sniffing out any better than he did.
Raul straddled his bike, which he’d left at the base of the mountain, and drove into Colony slowly, noting who was at their den and who visited them. The litters were forming sides, creating alliances that didn’t smell good. Everything they knew, the lives they took for granted and the home they’d always enjoyed would end soon. No matter his efforts or how many litters sided with him, the damage was done.
Knowledge of jaguars would alter the world completely, and they would suffer the most.
Raul pulled into his driveway, more than a little put out when no one was there. His bike rumbled to a stop and he climbed off, grabbed his phone and stalked to his front door. Cursing his big fingers while pushing the buttons on his phone—God, he hated cell phones—he placed his call.
“Rafe,” he snapped the moment his younger brother answered. “Where are you?”
Laughter and music flooded the phone line. “What’s wrong, Raul?” Rafe laughed. “Some female declaw you?” Shrill laughter followed. Rafe was preying on the local females.
Raul scowled. “Not even close. Find Ran and the two of you get home.” He glared at his empty den, moved into the kitchen and grabbed a cold bottle of beer out of the refrigerator. “Angela is on her way here too.”
“Really? She’s here.”
“What?” He gripped the bottle, feeling its cold sweat drip down his fingers. “Get her and bring her here.”
She tried to show her independence by not listening to him. She would soon learn he would never tell her to do something that would hurt her.
“What’s going on?” Rafe moved somewhere there was less noise, his tone growing more serious. “The litters are all talking about new opportunities that will put Colony on the map and make us all very rich.”
Raul growled out loud. Snapping the lid to the beer off with his fingers, he brought the moist bottle to his lips and gulped greedily then exhaled his aggravation. Angela’s scent covered him and he took a slow, deep breath, filling his insides with her rich aroma.
“Grab Angela and your brother and return to the den now. We need a litter meeting.”
“Angela is suddenly part of our litter?” Rafe sounded serious.
Raul didn’t answer him. She would be, but an announcement right now would get his younger brother too excited. They all needed to think clearly.
“Bring our litter home.” He ended the call, knowing his younger littermate wouldn’t disobey him, unlike feisty little cats with sultry curves and a defiant attitude he almost hated putting on a leash.
Raul took another long drink of his beer and leaned against the counter. Rafe’s words lingered in his mind as he stared into his empty living room. Part of our litter. Years of happiness hung in the air around him. The smells of his brothers, their good and not-so-good times, all happened in these rooms. They weren’t the perfect litter. Growing up without a mother and losing their father ten years ago almost to the day, times weren’t always easy. But Raul made sure his younger littermates always knew what the security of a litter meant. And the three of them lived good lives.
Whatever it took, they would fight to keep their litter strong. Colony would do what it would. Raul knew fighting to control all the litters was an impossible task. They were divided. He’d mulled the possibilities of killing Natasha. Getting her alone wouldn’t have been too impossible a task. But even if she died, her ideas were like a virus, and the infection already spread so that it stank with its greed and power-hungry stench. Colony was no longer an honorable home. Their litter would return to the rain forest. And yes, Angela would be part of their move.
The front door opened and closed with a bang.
“Colony has gone insane!” Rafe looked ready for a good fight, and might have found one if he hadn’t been ordered home.
“Communication with humans has already started,” Ran announced as he headed to the refrigerator. Leave it to Ran to know the inside happenings on matters. “There’s talk of a few jaguars leaving Colony to handle some special projects we’ve supposedly arranged with the humans.”
Rafe stood by Angela, who looked around their den, taking everything in. He touched her shoulder and she glanced his way, remaining relaxed and indifferent to his hand on her. “Ran, get our guest a beer,” Rafe ordered.
“Thank you.” She smiled at Rafe and sauntered through the living room as if she’d done it a hundred times before. “Most won’t talk to me,” she said when she offered Ran the same soft smile as she accepted the beer. “I did learn the Hunter litter plans to leave Colony.”
“What were you doing talking to the Hunter litter?” Raul demanded.
Angela finally acknowledged him, but not with the same charm she bestowed on his littermates. Her expression sobered as she met his gaze. That’s when he saw her hesitation and concern swimming in her suddenly troubled expression. He didn’t hesitate in brushing his fingers through her long, thick hair, the need to comfort and protect her hitting him harder than he’d ever thought possible.
“These are my kind too,” she whispered. “We aren’t like the lunewulfswith packs scattered all over this country and world. We are here and in the rain forest. But now we’re breaking apart. I have a right to know where the other jaguars plan to go.”
Someone shouted outside and Raul pulled her against him even as he looked over her head toward the windows. A fierce roar followed and Angela jumped.
“We’re going to fucking kill each other before anyone can go anywhere,” Rafe snarled.
Raul was at the door first, although Rafe and Ran quickly approached from either side. The shouting escalated and as he stepped outside, Raul fought the urge to insist everyone else stay inside. All he managed to do was keep Angela by his side when she would have pushed her way around them and run into the street. As it was, Rafe pranced ahead of them, almost dancing, as if he couldn’t wait to take the first punch.
“Yo
u can’t do this!” Maria Kalusian ran out of her home across the road, her black hair looking more streaked with gray than usual. “This will destroy our litter!”
“Enough!” Miguel Kalusian ignored Raul, who approached quietly, and instead turned his attention on his mate. Their oldest son Nik glanced warily at Raul and his litter before turning his attention to his parents when his sire continued speaking. “There are only so many ways to explain this to you, Maria. I’m not destroying our litter but making it stronger. You’ll thank me for this.”
“I don’t thank corpses,” she spat, spinning around and marching into their home. She slammed the door loud enough for the litters surrounding them to easily hear.
Raul noticed a few others stood outside now, watching with curiosity and hesitation. No one would invade a private dispute in a litter, but all would cautiously watch and wait for a fight.
Miguel grew up with Raul’s father, and the older jaguar turned back to his task of organizing items in the back of their SUV.
“Take your litter home,” he ordered when Raul crossed the street.
“What are you doing?” Raul wasn’t a cub anymore. His respect for Miguel hadn’t faltered, but he took orders from no one.
The older jaguar squinted at Raul, glancing at Rafe and Ran, and finally settling his gaze on Angela. “Why is she with your litter?” he growled.
“Tell me what you’re doing and I’ll tell you why she’s here.” Raul kept his tone deep, quiet, more than aware of other litters lingering outside their dens, sniffing the air and aching to learn the meaning of the outburst they just witnessed.
Miguel glanced at his oldest son and Nik straightened, a silent show of respect. Whatever action Miguel decided, Nik had his tail.
“I don’t care about the female that much.” Miguel grunted, finishing his task and closing the back hatch to the vehicle.
He turned, his stout chest puffed out and arms flexed while he fisted and unfisted his hands. Miguel was a large jaguar, still deadly in his prime, but never one Raul ever crossed paths with in the past. Something in his scent was off kilter today though.
“You’re leaving your litter then?” Raul challenged, barely giving Nik a glance when the male, who was about his age, stiffened and took a step toward him. Raul kept his attention on Miguel, who stuck his arm out to stop his son. “If you’d asked, you know all of us would willingly watch over your mate and protect what is yours in your absence,” Raul added, Rafe and Ran grunting their agreement behind him.
Miguel pierced Raul with hard green eyes, eyes that over the years held a fatherly look about them, but now glazed over with something that didn’t set right. Something cold, determined, almost obsessed.
“I won’t be gone long.” Miguel searched Raul’s face and inhaled sharply, more than likely trying to learn Raul’s opinion of him without asking. Finally, the older jaguar exhaled and ran his fingers through thick, black hair. “There are a few of us selected,” Miguel began, lowering his voice in a conspiratorial tone. “Males who are still in their prime, still quick and capable of killing with a moment’s notice.” He looked at his son pointedly. “No younger males were chosen, for obvious reasons. The mission is dangerous, although I’m confident we’ll return soon, but we won’t risk our young.”
Nik growled, but with a wave of his father’s hand silenced. “Our mission will change the view of jaguars throughout the world,” Miguel suddenly boasted. “And all of us will know wealth like we’ve never dreamed of having.”
Raul fought the sudden craving to leap on the older jaguar, to attack quickly and prevent what was about to happen. How dare Natasha and her inept followers launch her idea without consulting the rest of them! And he didn’t misunderstand the meaning behind Miguel’s boasting. He was heading out on a trial run, an experiment to see if jaguars and humans could work together. Except the jaguars would be doing the humans’ dirty work, cleaning up messes and eliminating those the humans decided no longer needed to live. There was no honor in this kind of killing, not when they attacked under orders. Not when it wasn’t their fight!
“We’ll keep a protective eye on your den while you’re gone,” he said quietly, forcing calmness into his tone.
He turned, ignoring the wary look Miguel gave him before nodding. The older jaguar expected him to argue or question him further. If anyone wanted to know where his litter’s loyalties lay, all they needed to do was ask him. There wasn’t any honor in fighting with a male or any jaguar too sick in the head to not know when they’d lost their integrity.
“Why the hell did you do that?” Rafe slammed his fist against the closed front door the moment they were all back inside their den.
Raul turned slowly, smelling everyone’s anger, but even so, taking his time to study each of their faces. Rafe glared at him, and Ran’s expression was pinched as he scowled at Raul. Angela crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the floor, her face shrouded with her long hair. He walked over to her and she looked up, her eyes haunted. Raul brushed her hair behind her shoulder, watched her lick her lips and suck in a breath. His scent smelled so good on her, but at the moment, it was tweaked with her spicy anger.
Miguel had pissed all of them off. Good.
“Showing our claws right now won’t stop this from happening,” he stated, taking his time, pulling his gaze from Angela to look at his littermates. “Natasha has supporters and contacts outside of Colony. Before we attack, we always learn how large our enemy is.”
The silence following was charged with energy thick with aggressive anger. He looked down at Angela and she stared up at him, concern clouding her pretty eyes.
“Our enemy is large,” she whispered loud enough he sensed his littermates’ tension grow. “Natasha plots better than she attacks. And she always prefers someone else baring their claws instead of her.”
“Sounds like you don’t have a high opinion of your littermate.” Rafe’s tone wasn’t condemning.
Angela straightened, shifting to pierce him with a defiant expression. “There was a time when I’d kill to protect Natasha,” she told him. “And I would today, if she would see her mistake. No one in Colony would ever curl their lip at her, I’d see to it, but only if she stops this.”
“I’ve heard jaguars are agreeing to sell themselves to humans.” The disgust in Ran’s tone was obvious. Several small strands of hair fell loose from the short ponytail he always wore at the base of his neck, and his sharp features looked even harder when Raul turned to look at him. Ran’s attention was on Angela though. “What do you know about what is going on?”
“About the same as you, it sounds,” she admitted easily. “I need to find out though. If there’s any chance of preventing those males from heading out of here, I’m going to make it happen.”
Before Raul swung around to face her, Angela moved to the door.
“No,” Raul ordered. “Attacking and killing our own kind won’t stop this. Humans already know about us, plans are already made. If we attack and stop them from leaving Colony, humans will then see us as unstable. They will attack.”
“Then humans will die,” Rafe snarled.
Raul glared at his littermate. “What kind of fight would that be? Would we attack another species simply because they don’t have honor? Their downfalls aren’t our problem.” He glanced over at Ran as he tried to figure out the best way to handle things. “This isn’t our battle, not anymore.” He sliced his hand through the air, finalizing the argument. “We’re leaving tonight, before the disgrace clouds Colony with its disgusting stench.”
“Where are you going?” Angela stiffened, the pointed look she bestowed on him earlier on the mountain tightening her expression once again. The look in her eyes stated clearly she wasn’t budging unless she decided she wanted to.
“The rain forest,” he said quietly, unwilling to argue with her in front of his littermates.
He didn’t have to.
“What do you mean, where are we going?” Rafe demanded,
moving to stand in front of her. “My littermate reeks of your scent.”
His hostile energy wouldn’t fall out on Angela though. Raul stiffened, ready to toss his brother aside if he got too mouthy. Rafe ignored him, putting his fists on his waist and giving Angela an interested once-over.
“Raul put his mark on you.” Rafe lowered his voice, looking deadly as hell. “I never thought you were like some of the other females.”
“Rafe, leave her alone.” Ran stepped in and stood next to Angela. “It’s bad enough for her with her litter torn apart. We have each other.”
Angela put her hand on Ran’s arm, and Raul swore Rafe growled under his breath. It didn’t surprise him his littermates would already be protective of her. Their scents were wrapped around each other, strong and fresh, bonding them together. They would attack anyone to protect her, just as they would to protect him. But that they would challenge each other for her honor. It filled him with pride. This was what a litter was all about.
“Angela has us too,” Raul informed them, garnering curious looks from his brothers and a wary one from Angela. He reached for her, pulling her against him and securing his hands at the small of her back. “We need to know who is leaving and who is staying.” He glanced down into those deep, green eyes and his cock stirred. “Besides the Hunters,” he added.
“I’ll go sniff around,” Rafe said quickly, grabbing the beer Ran had opened and downing it. “I need to burn some energy anyway or I won’t stop running when we hit Central America.”
Raul didn’t say anything when his littermate bounded out the door. It was best to let Rafe work off his aggressive nature in his own way. Rafe wouldn’t turn stupid, at least he hadn’t shown that cub side of him for a few years now.
Black Seduction Page 3