They’d gone another mile when he caught a sound echoing from somewhere to the north—a hiss followed by a human yowl. Without thinking he took off through the trees, running in human form at top shifter speed. He realized too late that he’d left Rose in the dark without a guide, but he knew she’d have told him to get to Zoe fast and not worry about her.
He broke out of the trees at the edge of small stream, shallow and frozen solid. He hunted around. He could feel another tiger, and he caught the scent of blood. When he saw a crumpled form a few hundred yards away, he felt his heart stop. He raced to the body.
Chapter Sixteen
Vlad reached the body in a flash, only to realize the writhing person on the ground was Nick Jameson.
The shock of relief was so profound, it took Vlad a moment to focus on the scene.
Jameson was groaning and holding his crotch. “Little bitch bit me.” His voice was harsh and gravelly.
Vlad raised his brows, then snapped them down. “What were you doing that made her bite your dick?”
“Nothing,” he gasped.
Vlad stepped on the hand that Jameson still held over his cock and pressed into the already injured area. Jameson screamed.
“What were you doing?” he asked again, his voice very quiet.
“No…not like that. She shifted suddenly. Then attacked me.” He groaned again as Vlad dug his foot in. “Telling the truth. Stop.”
“You kidnapped a three-year-old and took her into the forest. This isn’t half the pain I want to cause you. Where did she go?” Even as he asked, he scented the air, hunting for her. He caught a faint whiff swirling around a few feet up the frozen stream.
“Don’t know. Ah! Stop. I didn’t see. I’m bleeding. Get the fuck off!”
Vlad felt another shifter approaching and turned to face the newcomer without actually moving his foot from Jameson’s injured groin. To his surprise, he also picked up Rose’s scent with the approaching tiger.
When the tiger cleared the trees, Vlad realized why he smelled Rose, too. She was riding the Tracker’s back, her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs pulled up tight to his sides. She had the rifle pressed between her leg and arm and the tiger’s body with the muzzle pointed backward.
She slipped from his back, dropped to her knees, and then climbed up, rolling the rifle into position. She approached Jameson with the barrel pointed at his head. Very purposefully, she pumped the lever. The sound was loud in the still darkness.
“Where’s my daughter?” Her voice was a growl to rival any tiger’s.
“Don’t know.”
She set the muzzle against his forehead. “Where is my daughter?” She enunciated each word slowly and carefully.
Vlad’s heart thumped hard with so much love and fierce pride it almost pushed back the fear dogging him. He dug his foot in a little deeper. “She won’t hesitate to shoot. Don’t try her.”
“She ran into the trees, okay,” Jameson said.
“Why did you bring her here?” Rose asked.
Jameson had the bad sense to glower at her, a slight smirk pulling at his mouth. “She’s unnatural, an abomination pretending to be a tiger. If she’s a real shifter, she’ll have no problem surviving in this forest.”
Vlad dropped down, putting his knee in the man’s groin, hard, and his nose in the man’s face. Rose moved the rifle enough to give him room, but it still rested against Jameson’s temple.
“You brought her out here to leave her?” Vlad growled.
“A test. Only a true tiger could pass.”
“She’s three years old,” Rose said. “She’s a baby. And you were going to abandon her in the woods.” Her voice dropped to a vicious hiss on the last word.
Vlad’s own outrage took hold and his tiger roared in his head. He gripped Jameson’s head and snapped his neck in one swift move.
When he stepped off, Rose settled the rifle against Jameson’s forehead and fired. The .44 Magnum bullet turned the top of his head into a bloody mess. She pumped the lever and fired again.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Yes. Let’s find our baby. Can you track her from here?” She nodded to a spot on the ice-covered river and said, “Looks like a cub print.”
Vlad looked closer. She was right. “I love that you’re a hunter, too.” He glanced at the Tracker. “You go ahead, but if you find her come get us. She’s scared and probably won’t come out to you.”
The tiger nodded its huge head and tore off into the trees, following the same scent drawing Vlad on.
“I’ve got her scent, but the snow makes it a little harder. Keep your eyes open for more signs of her trail.”