seconds of listening to Mars’ calm voice, the women seemed to relax a little and allowed him to usher them inside.
Shadow sent magic flowing out of his fingertips. It circled the invader closest to him and slowly enveloped the man.
The warrior’s muffled screams poured out of the purple mist as the magic devoured him inch by inch. When the smoke cleared all that was left was a pile of polished bones. Shadow picked one up and pocketed it. No one questioned why.
Hawk wrapped a meaty hand around a man’s throat and snapped his neck with little effort. “Find the others!” he shouted. “Do not let them escape.”
Shadow, Lex, and Reaper nodded, then took off after the fleeing thieves. Hawk watched them go. His men could handle the few remaining invaders on their own. He had a cat to locate.
Hawk shifted into his feline form and immediately detected the odor of another cat. Where was she? Had they already taken her? If they had, it had been recent since her scent was so fresh and strong.
He stalked the alien firing into the shadows. No warrior worth his salt wasted ammo. There had to be something hiding in the darkness. Hawk approached the man from behind. As soon as he got within range, he leapt. His big jaw snapped the man's ridged spine.
The man’s dying cries filled his ears, but Hawk ignored him and continued to follow the scent of blood. It was only a few drops here and there, but that didn’t mean that the injury wasn’t bad.
He sniffed the ground, then opened his mouth and inhaled the scent. The coppery aroma definitely came from another cat. Was it Opal or had another cat-shifter come aboard?
The skin near his nape tingled. It was the only warning Hawk got. He turned in time to find a black cat with a jeweled collar hurdling toward him with its claws outstretched.
Hawk rolled the second she hit him. The move sent them both tumbling across the floor away from the battle wrapping up in the main part of the cargo hold.
Opal snarled and took off into the shadows. Hawk followed close behind. He saw her tail swish as she leapt onto more containers. Before she could climb even higher, Hawk hit her in the side, knocking her off balance. She fell back onto the floor.
Like any good cat, Opal landed on her feet. She tried to run, but her paws slipped on the metal floor. Hawk was on her before she made it a single step. If she were hurt, he didn’t want her exacerbating the injury by fighting him. Hawk’s big cat pinned Opal’s feline form to the floor. A second later, his massive jaws clamped onto her neck and he pulled the skin tight.
He’d intended to capture her and nothing more, but having Opal in this position in her cat form brought out instincts that had never surfaced inside Hawk before.
Sensing a female beneath him, his beast wrestled for control and got it. His back legs pressed down on her, flatting Opal’s feline form until the bottom half of her body was compressed.
Opal hissed at him and tried to free herself, but it was too late. Hawk simply pulled the skin on her neck tighter, until her head was craned and her body was open. His beast was careful not to injure her, but it wasn’t about to relinquish its hold. Hawk’s cat held her in that position until he felt her relax beneath him.
Hawk wondered if Opal realized that she’d just submitted to his dominance. He hoped so. It would make things easier once they were in their other forms and could communicate.
Opal’s feline side stayed receptive beneath him, beneath his cat. Hawk wanted to shout in victory, but he couldn’t. The most he could do was roar. The sound was followed by a deep pleasurable growl. The kind of growl a male gave when he knew he was about to claim a female.
In this form, Hawk wouldn’t last long. That was the nature of his beast, but that fact didn’t deter him. Didn’t deter his cat. It wanted her and it wasn’t about to give her up without a fight.
His beast laid on top of her, making sure she was in the
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