“How do you dispose of a T-Rex?”
She grinned. “I think I’ll let that one be someone else’s problem.”
When they reached the gates of the city and saw the jungle beyond, Destiny stopped. “We’d make better time as tigers. Want to take a walk on the wild side, jarhead?”
Yes, purred his tiger. We will run and track and hunt with our mate.
Ethan watched with enjoyment and barely restrained desire as she undressed and put her clothes and weapons in the backpack. He had to turn his back on her before he undressed himself. If they were both naked at the same time and watching each other, he’d either be unable to restrain himself, or she would, or they’d both lose their minds.
He packed up his clothes and weapons, then reached inside himself to find his tiger. Ethan imagined being bigger, furrier, hunting by scent and on four huge paws…
…and the world seemed to shift focus. He was on all fours, in a new body that felt lithe and strong and fierce. He could no longer see in color, but all sorts of fascinating and distinct scents surrounded him. Ethan turned to see Destiny’s tiger watching him with brilliant eyes. He tried to smile at her, and found himself making a huffing noise instead. They padded up to each other, sniffing and nuzzling, then, for a brief wild moment, playfully nipping and rolling over together on the ground.
Then he picked up the backpack in his powerful jaws and they set off at a brisk lope. Their tigers had evolved to travel in this exact sort of terrain, and moved between the trees with far more ease than they could as humans, despite being far bigger. And it was a special kind of joy to run through the jungle with his mate beside him, tracking the acrid lizard smell of the Achillo-whatevers and the human scent of their controller back to the base.
We hunt, purred his tiger with satisfaction. This is what we were always meant for.
His mate hunted by his side. Ethan felt light as a feather, in body and heart and soul. The miles fell away behind them.
Chapter 14
Destiny
T hey reached the jungle surrounding the Apex base as the sun was going down. The scraps of western sky between the leaves glowed like the heart of a fire. Destiny’s keen tiger’s nose could smell concrete, engine oil, fuel exhaust, and other odors that had no place in a jungle.
She and Ethan stopped, concealed by dense trees and hanging curtains of vines. Destiny nuzzled him, then nudged the backpack he carried in his mouth. He dropped it and became a naked man.
It was good to see him standing strong and confident, not even winded by their long run. She’d been so afraid for him. But that was over now. They were on a dangerous mission, sure, but Ethan did dangerous missions for a living. And so did she. They’d already beaten a T-Rex! She couldn’t imagine that base holding anything that could scare her after that.
Once Destiny became a woman, she took a moment to unabashedly admire him. The stark patterns of his black tattoos covered his chest and arms, following and enhancing the natural angles of bone and swells of muscle. She feasted her eyes on his biceps, his triceps, his pecs, the light dusting of golden hair on his chest. She always had liked men with muscles, and Ethan was well-endowed in that department. In others, too. What a lucky girl she’d turned out to be.
“You look luscious,” Ethan murmured.
“So do you. Being a shifter suits you.”
“It’s hard to believe I was ever anything else.”
He bent down, and she tipped her face up. His strong arms encircled her, protective and loving. They came together for a kiss, breathing in each other’s scent and warmth and presence. His body melded against hers in a perfect fit.
They opened the backpack and dressed quickly, then slung their swords and tiger claws on their belts. She left the gun in the backpack; it was useless without bullets. With any luck they’d soon be able to ambush a guard and acquire a new one. A tranquilizer rifle, preferably. They hoped to be able to get in, radio for help, break out the prisoners, and get out without raising an alarm, and gunshots indoors would certainly do that.
As they began stealthily making their way toward the base, a rustle of leaves made them freeze and drop their hands to the hilts of their swords. They relaxed as they saw the source of the noise, a tiny shape moving behind a bush.
“Just a squirrel,” she said. “Or a little—”
The creature burst out of the shrubbery. It was so covered in clinging wet leaves and moss that Destiny couldn’t tell exactly what it was at first, other than that it walked on two legs.
“Is that a chicken?” Ethan said doubtfully.
The whatever-it-was stopped right in their path, showing no fear of them, and hissed. Destiny imagined she could hear a note of indignation in the sound. Also, it definitely was not a chicken, unless it was a mutant chicken with a whole lot of teeny fangs instead of a beak. It shook itself, sending moss and leaves flying, and revealed itself as a dinosaur. A very small dinosaur.
Destiny and Ethan stared at the creature. It somewhat resembled the Achillobators that had attacked them in the Golden City, but apart from being much smaller, it was black rather than mottled green, and had a sleeker shape. Its color made it blend into the rich black earth of the forest floor, so much so that it was hard to get a good look at it, apart from the gleam of its white fangs and the glow of its yellow eyes.
“I think it’s a velociraptor!” Destiny exclaimed. “Remember, Ayers said they were the size of a chicken.”
The velociraptor, if that was what it was, l
et out another hiss. Then it suddenly began to grow. Ethan grabbed Destiny’s arm, and they jumped back as the dinosaur went from chicken-sized to Ethan-sized in less than three seconds.