od beside her, one hand in her fur, his fingers massaging her neck. her jaguar loved it, rubbing her head against his thigh in response.

he went this way. solange took a couple of steps, certain now of the cat's tracks. even with the male jaguar in the area, his prints overlaying the shadow cat's in places, she easily could distinguish between the two. the shadow cat had gone into the water right at the very entrance to the limestone labyrinth. why did he risk being tracked when he could take the shape of a shadow?

"that is an excellent question," dominic murmured aloud. "did his master have to be close to keep him a shadow? if so, we should be able to find where his master waited for him."

he came from that direction. solange took him back through the forest to where she'd first come across the tracks. we know he went into the water and never came back out, but his handler must have gotten him close enough to pick up my blood scent.

she could feel dominic frown, and his fingers bunched in her fur, but he didn't react, simply stepped back to allow her to lead him through the forest, backtracking now. once she was on the shadow cat's trail, she grew more certain of herself, moving faster, winding in and out of the trees away from the stream and yet away from the interior.

no cat would go in this direction unless he was feeding on cattle. this area is patrolled heavily by men with guns. they protect the cattle fiercely, and unless a jaguar is old or injured, it will stick to the game here in the forest. maybe he was looking for an easy meal.

she didn't like getting too close to the enormous cattle ranch that lay just on the outer edges of the forest. the men fired a warning shot as a rule, trying to drive a wandering cat back into the forest, but just as often, one might be trigger-happy. she'd noted cesaro's reaction to her cat. it was almost instinctual. the cattlemen considered it their duty to keep the cattle safe, and cats were predators they didn't want near the ranches.

"we are on de la cruz property." dominic sounded grim.

yes. it is quite large. all of their places are enormous. they are very wealthy. they employ a lot of people who are very loyal to them. they take good care of their workers and the families who stay with them throughout the years seem to grow wealthy as well. many of the locals are fiercely loyal to them.

"solange, whoever is handling the cat has to be on this ranch."

her heart jumped. maybe not. maybe it was looking for a meal. but she knew he was right. it made sense. the tracks led straight to a road. and on the road there were tire tracks. she'd seen them often in her wanderings. the trucks the de la cruz workers used were all the same, as were the tire tracks so clear there in the mud. the heavy cat had leapt from the back of the truck. the tracks were deep behind where the vehicle had been parked.

dominic crouched low to examine the ground. "there are boot prints here. there must have been a cage of some kind in the back of the truck and he let it out."

not vampire.

"definitely not vampire. what do you think is going on here, solange?"

a silly fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach told her just how much it mattered that he'd asked her opinion. she turned the small bit of information they'd collected over and over in her head. maybe we aren't the target at all here, dominic. they don't know about you yet. and what threat would they consider me? zacarias is the biggest threat they have in this part of the world. he's the one most feared of all the de la cruz brothers. he carries the most power and is the most influential with the leaders here.

"all true, but why would they need your blood? what would that have to do with zacarias?"

whatever it is, i'll bet they didn't count on me giving my blood to zacarias. i'm not known for my generosity in that area.

"so it if isn't a vampire"--dominic was already following the tracks of the truck in the mud, knowing it would lead them back to the de la cruz ranch--"then who would send a cat after you? and who has that kind of black magic ability to possess another's body now that xavier is dead?"

are all mages in league with the vampires? did they all follow xavier?

"no, the mages have scattered to the four corners of the world. many were experimented on. xavier held razvan for centuries, and in that time he saw many terrible things done to young mage women and men. a few fanatical mages worshiped him and followed his teachings. they hate carpathians and want them wiped off the earth just as much as the vampires do."

so we know whoever sent the cat has to be mage, and not necessarily in league with the vampires. he may have his own agenda. and he's using someone at zacarias's ranch. if he's been there for some time, getting established, he must have been very distressed when zacarias showed up. he rarely comes here.

they stood at the edge of the forest, staring down at the cleared barrier between the forest and the extensive cattle ranch. the truck tracks followed the road straight into the de la cruz property.

solange shifted and stood naked beside dominic, smiling a little at his body's instant response to her.

"you could give me a little warning so i would be ready with clothes," he said.

she lifted an eyebrow. "i think you're a little off your game, dragonseeker. i expected clothes. maybe i should be going to visit our neighbors just like this. it would definitely get us in the door."

instantly her body was clad in familiar jeans and tee. she laughed at him. even her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. "yeah, that's what i thought. let's go see who wants my blood."

dominic held out his hand. solange only hesitated for a second before she put her hand in his and walked with him up the muddy road toward the sprawling de la cruz ranch house.