Leopard's Wrath (Leopard People 11)

The huge leopard leapt from the car and rushed toward the two cars caught now between two cattle trucks. The cars couldn’t move forward or backward. Gunfire mowed down two occupants, the driver and front passenger of the Audi. The back doors popped open and a leopard rushed out, running full out, zigzagging to take him into the brush, using the cover of his friends as they returned fire.

Dymka immediately changed direction and went after him. The leopard was big, nearly black with rosettes set deep in his fur. Dymka increased his speed in order to cut him off from escape. He hit the dark leopard in the side hard, driving him off his feet, so that he rolled partially down the small slope they were on. Dymka followed him, roaring his challenge, daring the dark leopard to get to his feet and fight.

The leopard rolled over once more and sprang up, using his flexible spine to spin his body toward Dymka, rising in the air on his hind legs to meet Mitya’s cat as he came in, all teeth and stiletto claws. They crashed together, slicing at each other, trying to tear open bellies and rip at genitals. They hit the ground at the same time, slashing at muzzles and trying to get an advantage so they could get to the neck and deliver a suffocating bite.

Loose skin and roped muscles prevented either leopard from immediately and effectively ending the fight. They broke apart and circled each other. Mitya felt the fierce joy in his leopard as if it were his own. The leopard reveled in the challenge of the fight, and this leopard was worthy of his attention.

The dark leopard feigned an attack, coming in toward his neck and then suddenly whipping around to go at Dymka’s hindquarters. He tried to grab with both front paws, looking to hook deep and drag his opponent back and then throw him down. Dymka had seen it all and he was ready, using incredible speed and power to nearly fold his body in half as he spun around to face the other leopard and drive forward, coming under the head straight at the neck. He caught the cat in his jaws, teeth biting deep.

The dark leopard fought valiantly, ripping at him with his front claws, but Dymka was big and strong. He shook his opponent hard, throwing him off his feet and then, taking a firmer grip on the throat, held him pinned to the ground. They stared at each other, eye to eye. Mitya had hoped he could spare this one to interrogate later, but he could see the leopard was not going to submit. The hatred and resolution were there, regarding Dymka, even knowing that submission might save his life.

Dymka held him there while he struggled and then grew still, until the life faded from his eyes, leaving a magnificent leopard dead. Mitya cursed as Dymka stepped back from the body, roaring his victory. He paced away, slapping dirt and grass with his paw and then raced back to the leopard and swiped at him. It took several minutes for Mitya to get his leopard to control his nature and look toward the battle.

The sound of gunfire had faded. He saw Fyodor and Timur standing beside the two cars. There were bodies on the ground. Fyodor signaled to him, pointing toward the hillside across from them. Dymka turned his head and then, leaving the others to clean up and hopefully take any live prisoners back to the house, he sprinted up the hill, looking for the lone escapee Fyodor had indicated had come this way.

It only took a few minutes before he caught the leopard’s stench. He pulled his lips back in a silent snarl and wrinkled his nose in a warning display. The leopard had made it into a grove of trees on Bannaconni’s extensive property. Dymka followed him unerringly, catching a glimpse of his passing, a partial track mark, bruised leaves on a bush and the unmistakable stench of his spray proclaiming the territory belonged to him.

Without warning, a bullet skimmed Dymka’s shoulder, so that a bright hot flame of pain burst through him. The big leopard dodged and rolled, coming to his feet on the other side of the bush his opponent had marked. He crawled back toward the trees and deeper cover on his belly, careful not to move any branches and give his position away. That didn’t stop the man from firing his weapon over and over into the brush where Dymka had disappeared.

The shifter had had the good sense to take a pack with him, something Mitya hadn’t done. He’d been so eager to fight, to challenge other leopards and give his cat a workout when he was so moody and dangerous. He also hoped to be able to interrogate one of the men trying to kill him. Kill him? Or Ania?