Page 58 of Mated to Team Shadow

"Someone needs to get laid," opined Gunner.

"I don't want to be the dinner and show part of that," I said.

"Crocodilesareecumenical in their diet," said Damon.

"Speak in English, you over-educated fuck," I snapped.

"They'll eat anything," said Gunner, laughing.

I'd flip off Gunner too if I didn't need my hands to balance on top of this pin cushion. Honestly, if I stayed here any longer, I'd lose the feeling in my feet.

"What do you suggest I do here, guys? Because if I stay here longer, I'll be in the running for the longest gymnastic pose held in an escape attempt."

"Stop being a wuss," said Ryker. "You've faced worse situations in BUDs training."

"Yeah, like when you fell from that forty-foot-high rope," offered Gunner.

"Fuck you. Like you didn't whimper when they poured benzoin tincture into your broken calluses. Who was a wuss then?"

"Shit. The stuff nearly lit my hands on fire."

"In your imagination."

"Quit it," snapped Ryker. "How wide is that moat?"

"About ten feet."

"And the slope of the decline?" asked Damon.

"About thirty degrees."

"What do you think, Damon?"

"Think what?" I said.

"I think he can do it if he shifts before he does."

"Do what?" I snarled.

"Jump," said Ryker.

I was about to argue because I don't like the idea, but then I caught movement at the hangar door, and Dr. Melkot walked out holding his tranq gun.

"Go, go, go," ordered Ryker.

The others shifted and ran at Melkot, probably hoping that one would get through. I saw Melkot shooting off the gun and hitting one after the other of my teammates, and I have no choice. If I don't get out of here, there is no one to get us help.

"I'll be back," I said under my breath, and I coiled my muscles and jumped and shifted at the same time.

Human ancestors may have descended from the trees, but jaguars still lived in them. I sprang forward and down, catching the crocodiles' attention who churned the water in their race under me hoping to make me their next meal. I hit the edge of the moat, with several of the reptiles nipping my heels. They followed me as I sprinted across the strip of land beyond the moat. At top speed, a jaguar can sprint sixty miles per hour, and I easily outpaced them. A shorter chain-link fence ran at the bottom of the incline, and I jumped that.

And I ran, not knowing where I was going, or who I would encounter. I had to find help and get back to my teammates before Melkot shipped them off somewhere else. It's clear to me that Melkot went rogue and probably planned on selling our children to the highest bidder. The thought made me angrier, putting speed into my paws, and I churned the ground as my claws dug in for traction. Ahead of me ran a strip of concrete so it must be a road of some type. Roads mean civilization. To my right were mountains, and to the left more open land. Mountains meant most times, backwoods and less civilization, and clear areas pointed to water sources where people congregated, so I turned left and followed the road.

My sides ached from the exertion of running. Now a sharp pain shot through a back paw where a croc must have snagged it before I pulled away from it. But I would keep pushing because my team depended on me. When I found Melkot, I'd rip him a brand new asshole because a jerk like that deserves two just on general principles. It was my hate that drove me now and my concern for my teammates, and I wondered where the hell my mate was because she could be in danger too. All it took was one of us idiots to mutter her name in our sleep, and Melkot would be on her like white on rice.

The road sloped slightly downward. Down meant water, and water meant people and if I was lucky enough, I was on an island with an American consulate. The brass could disavow us, but I had to try. It was the only place where I could send a message to our central command and possibly get help. Surely, they wouldn't allow Melkot to keep us, even if it meant we'd had to spend time in the brig for fucking up.

A ramshackle shack rose on the right, and then another. Many of the houses looked torn apart and then I remembered Hurricane Maria ripped the Caribbean apart. When I passed a cluster, I knew I was getting closer to the city. I thought briefly what I looked like, a jaguar running along the road, but though I heard people yelling, I was on a mission, and I wouldn't stop.

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