Page 46 of Midnight Rain

Cormac stalked to the kitchen and walked out the back door. He shifted midstride and took off toward the woods. That had to be where the shooter was. The guest room Austin had been in faced the side of the house, and Cormac hadn’t heard a car taking off. Which meant Jaycee was on foot.

He slowed when he moved past the tree line, scenting the air. He smelled Beckett and Izel and someone unfamiliar. It had to be Jaycee.

But there was another odor. Was that bleach? Had Jaycee used a countermeasure? If he’d known to do that, then he’d have had to see the cheetahs patrolling the property. But why hadn’t any of them detected his odor before now?

The strong smell of bleach messed with Cormac’s senses the farther into the forest he went. A moment later he spotted Beckett’s cheetah, Izel standing next to him. Neither were moving. They were simply looking around.

“The foul odor is making it hard for Beckett to track him.” Izel knelt and touched something. “I ‘ve tracked his steps to this point, but I’ve lost them.”

Cormac shifted. “Can you pick it back up?”

“I’m trying to,” Izel said. “I was a great hunter in my time. My skills are a little rusty since I haven’t used them in two millennia, but I am not going to give up.”

Cormac’s cheetah wanted to hunt. It wanted to rip Jaycee to shreds, but it couldn’t do that if it couldn’t find its prey. “He stood in these goddamn woods and shot Austin through the upstairs window. He’s gone from wanting to possess my mate to wanting him dead. I don’t care how long it takes to track him, Izel. I’m going to find him and end him.

When Izel began to move, Cormac and Beckett trailed behind him. He hated that it was taking so much time, but he also didn’t want Izel to lose the tracks he was following.

Jaycee wasn’t getting away.

They walked for a long moment, and then Cormac realized they were heading back the way they’d come.

“He backtracked,” Izel said.

Cormac’s heart thundered. “He’s going to the house.”

Shifting, Cormac took off, racing toward the house. He didn’t bother shifting when he reached the back door. Just as he crossed the threshold, he heard a scream.

Cormac shot upstairs. He stopped when he saw Jaycee outside his bedroom, his arm slung around Bran. He was holding a handgun to the mate’s head.

Hayden, in his cheetah form, stalked from the room, his head low, snarls vibrating from his throat.

“Just hand Austin over and no one has to get hurt,” Jaycee said. “You guys are at fault. If you hadn’t made Austin stay here, I wouldn’t have had to cause a distraction to get inside.”

Bran was shaking so hard his limbs were jerking. He kept his eyes on Hayden as Cormac moved closer. Jaycee swung around and looked at Cormac. “I couldn’t believe the first time I saw one of you change into an animal, and that’s when I knew I had to save Austin. He isn’t safe here. He’ll only be safe with me.”

Cormac shifted and said between clenched teeth, “Let. Him. Go.”

Bran whimpered as he looked at Cormac. “I was standing right inside your bedroom door when he came up behind me and grabbed me.”

“This isn’t your fault, Bran,” Cormac said.

“It’s all your faults!” Jaycee shouted. “He wouldn’t be in danger if you hadn’t taken Austin from me! Only I understand him! Only I know what he truly needs!”

“He ran from you,” Cormac argued.

“Only because he was scared of how strongly he felt about me. He was scared of loving someone as much as he loved me!”

Cormac spread his arms. “Then let Austin decide if he wants to go with you or stay here.”

“He’s unconscious,” Jaycee argued.

“Because you shot him,” Cormac snarled. “There were hundreds of things you could have done if you wanted a distraction besides using a rifle.”

Beckett climbed up the stairs behind Cormac, giving a low yowl. Cormac heard a car and knew Duncan had made it home.

“It worked.” Jaycee smirked.

“You’re not making it out of here alive,” Cormac said. “There isn’t even going to be enough of you left to bury.”

---