Chapter 552 Chapter 552
She watched him steer for a minute, making sure he was going to be able to handle it. All she could smell now was that stinky machine. That was bad, she needed to be able to pick up scents. She’d only been able to pick up one signature before the snowmobile started. They were heading away from the cabin, probably searching for guards that they thought might be here with her. She hadn’t been able to sense the other. That was the one that worried her the most. She didn’t know what clan these jokers were from, she’d killed them too fast that the scent of blood had filled her whole system, so she couldn’t pick up a clan signature. Her cat had wanted to gore them, rip them to shreds, which wasn’t unusual, but they had been no real threat, so that was odd. Was it because of what he’d said to Griffin? She couldn’t be sure but needed to clamp down on that. The last thing she needed was for her animal to feel all possessive and protective of the man that was their assignment.
Picking up the pace, she steered her cat back to lead and hoped that she’d be able to pick up the scent of the third one sent to extinguish her and take Griffin back to Aiden Tomas.
It was a bonus that they thought he’d run away. She'd report that to Kenzo as soon as she got him somewhere safe. When they realized he hadn’t taken off, there would be a rush at all locations on the chance they got information out of his half-brother. Little did they know that with everything in the notebook, the Alliance would be able to dismantle a lot more than a few houses full of captives.
Her cat tensed, getting her attention. She slowed and inhaled, taking little time to assess what the wind brought her. The one was close.
Stopping, she watched Griffin until he caught up and moved by her at a slower speed. He was looking all around them as he did. Good, at least he was alert. Turning, she perused the mountain, what she could see through the blowing snow. Nothing seemed out of place. This storm was not helpful. It was so much easier to hunt when you could use the forest creatures as allies, but there was nothing out in this weather. Every living creature had taken refuge to wait out the storm.
She wasn’t sure which clan she was dealing with, but some of the others said they had hyenas from some other country working for Tomas. What would cause an entire clan to turn on their kind, she didn’t know. She’d never killed one, so seeing what it would involve was almost exciting. Her cat seemed interested too. Didn’t matter what type of animal, but her sinking her teeth into anything’s throat usually ended it fast enough.
The lack of noise from the snowmobile registered. There was no way he had gone so far ahead that she couldn’t hear it. Shit, hopefully, he hadn’t run out of gas.
Shaking the snow from her coat, she turned to go make sure he was all right.
Her cat reacted before the movement registered. Jumping to the side, an animal landed in the snow where she had been standing. The pale spotted animal looked at her. So that’s what they looked like. A little goofy looking, in her opinion. His smaller sharp teeth would hurt enough if he got them into her, but the paws and claws were nothing compared to hers.
Ears flat, she bared her teeth and then emitted a one-time warning growl. Not that he was going to be a challenge, but she felt a warning was necessary. He snapped at her a few times before he charged her. He actually thought he was going to knock her off balance. It was a good strategy, but she outweighed him a lot.
He did have the advantage of being smaller, making quick turns easier, but she grew tired of his little game of leapfrog after a few minutes. Straightening, she flicked her tail, daring him to come at her again. She wasn’t going to crouch this time. He lunged at her, so she rose on her back legs and caught him in the chest with both front paws, essentially flattening him into the deep snow.
She didn’t pause to let him recover, just bit his neck on the side and made sure she had a good grip on it. Out of all the things she liked about her cat, the strength of her bite was one of her favorites. Once she got enough flesh pierced with her teeth, there was no getting free.
He tried to turn and dig his back feet into her side, but her much longer body was a plus as she stepped, so he couldn’t reach her. With his front paws, he tried shoving against her face so she would have to let go. Straightening, she backed up and dragged him. He was still for a moment, and just like that, her cat was bored and joined in by shaking her head. She lifted it to check if there was any struggle left. The creature hung from her jaw. Releasing it, she pawed him a few times and there was no response. Fragile little things, these hyenas, she thought. Grabbing the leather strap of his pack, she bit through it.
She smelled gun oil. Spinning around, she crouched down and then saw Griffin standing beside a tree. He was pointing a gun at her. Her cat tried to resist, but Blaise overrode her, crouched, and gave him a warning growl. He had about three seconds to lower her gun.