A Strange Dream V

His cry of terror echoed through her mind, replacing hunger and confusion with a focus she might not otherwise have found.

She saw him reaching for the cat, trying to aid her.

Not wanting to risk his life, she broke the telepathic connection between them and dissolved.

Her body turned to vapor, streaming up and around the cat to reshape into that of a male jaguar with a broad, heavy head and a larger, stockier body the color of the darker shadows.

Droplets of blood fell like mist, spattering the leaves and roots as she took the form of a rare black jaguar.

She snarled a challenge and leapt. The two cats crashed heavily together, rolling across roots and boughs, the sounds of battle disturbing the night.

Many cats used strangulation to kill, but the jaguar, with its exceptionally powerful jaw, would bite directly through the skull between the temporal bones, killing prey instantly.

Jaguars were extraordinarily strong, with compact, muscular bodies and broad heads. Stealthy and ne