His Darkest Hunger (Jaguar Warriors 1)

“Yeah, the problem is, they’re smart-ass sons of bitches,” Cracker said. “They should know we’d be gunning for them after they attacked Jagger’s cabin.” He shook his head and added, “We gotta play it safe and be alert.”

Jaxon nodded. “Agreed. The chances are high that we’re walking into a trap.” He looked to Declan and Cracker, glad to see the deadly resolve in both of their eyes. “Let’s do this.”

He started toward the compound, and the two men followed a few steps behind. The three assassins moved quickly, the excitement of the hunt spurring them forward as a deadly calm settled over their bodies.

Ahead, their scouts moved with sinuous grace through the thick underbrush, the animals quivering with the need to hunt as they edged closer to their target.

The great cats’ agile bodies and powerful frames allowed them to creep close to the compound well ahead of their team members. The black jaguar veered off to the right, sending a soft bark to his partner as the golden cat went to the left. Their nostrils quivered in excitement as they slowly encircled the encampment, seeking out any of their enemy that might be on point duty.

Julian’s heart was near bursting, so intense were his feelings. His spirit was screaming in joy as the animal inside him howled at the thought of the coming hunt. He’d not exaggerated earlier. It had been way too long since he gave in to the wild animal that was so much a part of him.

He’d spent too much time ignoring its pleas for release. He’d actually grown afraid at the thought of letting his jaguar out. But now…now his senses were burning with a fire that propelled him forward with a vengeance. He could no longer deny what he was. Nor what he was capable of doing.

The encampment was surrounded by a crude attempt at a fence. Julian rounded the far end of the compound and stopped as a foreign scent made his nostrils quiver in anticipation. The great cat licked his lips slowly, his head bobbing back and forth as he tried to find the source of the smell.

He crouched low on his belly, noticing movement up ahead. Slowly, he made his way forward. When he spied a guard leaning against a tree a few paces to his right, he froze. He began to salivate and his heart trembled. He felt his humanity slipping from him, but didn’t care. Savagely, he welcomed the power that surged through his body.

His prey was drawing hard from a cigar, the smoke plumes no more than tiny slivers of white ribbons. They danced just above his head, and if the idiot had been paying attention, he would have realized that the forest had become silent.

Guess there were limits to Declan’s charms after all, he thought.

Inside, deep in the hidden recesses of his soul, the cat quieted. He slowly crept closer to the guard, who was unaware of the threat to his life. The man was human. There was no scent of shifter about him as Julian crouched a foot away, ready to pounce. Then, as planned, a large explosion ripped through the early evening.

Startled, the guard dropped his cigar and swore as he tried to retrieve the little bit of Cuban tobacco hidden amongst the underbrush at his feet.

A second explosion led the guard to straighten and stand upright, but it was too late. With lightning speed and incredible strength, the jaguar leapt up and poun

ced hard, his paws digging in deep as the man screamed in pain.

His eyes widened and filled with terror at Julian’s roar. He tried frantically to move, but the heavy beast had him pinned, and then he was frantically begging for his life.

“Please, I no bad person. I only work for money.” Clearly the guard knew that this was no regular animal atop of him. He cringed as the jaguar snarled again, unaffected by the human’s attempt to sway him.

The man worked for his enemy. The math was simple—only one of them would leave this patch of paradise alive. With a powerful lunge, his canines pierced the man’s skull, and less than a minute later the guard lay dead at his feet.

Smoke from the explosion drifted toward him, and Julian took off like a shot, the euphoric rush of the kill giving him more power, as a black energy inched its way into his essence.

Julian Castille was not a killer. In fact this was his first coup. The scary thing was not only had it come incredibly easy to him, but that he’d enjoyed it.

The jaguar soon lost his human train of thought as more animalistic urges rose to the surface. He quickly faded into the forest, leaving the body there to rot.

After the first charge went off, Jaxon slipped through the poor excuse for a fence and made his way toward the large building at the far left of the compound. Cracker had gone to the opposite side, and at any minute the second charge would explode.

Several men stumbled out of the small bungalows that lined the main area of the compound, half hidden by a thick overhand of trees. They seemed intoxicated, and Jaxon felt a sliver of unease. Something felt off here, and he signaled silently to Declan to proceed with caution. They each drew their weapons, and as the second explosion rocked the air, quickly made their way to the large outbuilding.

A screech rent the night, and Jaxon glanced back as angry snarls accompanied the shrieks. Jagger and Julian had arrived, and he pushed aside his pride at the ferocity and strength his brothers shared. He needed to focus.

And bag a DaCosta.

He and Declan could hear excited voices coming from inside the building, where it seemed that people had barricaded themselves from attack. The unease he’d felt earlier spiked. These were not seasoned soldiers.

Jaxon snarled savagely. They were fools.

Declan silently crept up the steps that led to a large door. His hand snuck out and he tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. He signaled to Jaxon, who stood on point while Declan went to work setting a charge at both the top and bottom of the door.

He jumped off the landing and both he and Jaxon had moved when the charges split the door in two, leaving a billowing cloud of smoke and a gaping hole in front of the building. They were joined by Cracker, and all three charged forward, guns raised and adrenaline pumping furiously.

Jaxon was the first inside, and he scanned the dimly lit interior. There was a group of women cowering in the corner, and he swore, but ignored them to continue toward the area where he expected to find the DaCostas.