Dark Possession Page 0,84

he asked Jasmine as he stepped aside to allow his lifemate to rush to her cousin's side.

"We need to put her in a room and allow her to shift back to human form," Jasmine said. "She's quiet now, but in pain."

"I'm so sorry." Juliette was close to tears. "We tried to get here, but our enemies are near. They must have guessed our resting place, and when we tried to rise, they attacked us."

Manolito flicked a quick, hard glance at his brother, to ensure the man had no wounds that needed immediate attention. Riordan shook his head to assure him.

"Jasmine and I can take Solange to her room," Juliette said, "while you help Manolito."

"What are you doing?" Riordan demanded, although he already knew. He just didn't want it to be true. "Have you lost your mind? We cannot bring a jaguar male over."

"Why?" MaryAnn challenged. "You have no problem converting women. Wasn't Juliette human with a little jaguar blood thrown in?"

Riordan's gaze flicked to her face and then down to her shredded leg.

"Riordan?" Jasmine called his attention back to her.

At once his expression softened. "What is it, little sister?"

"I asked Manolito to save the jaguar. If he hadn't come to Solange's aid, she would have been captured or dead."

"A mage traveled with them." Manolito supplied the information, his features set in grim lines as he stopped Luiz from feeding. "He unraveled the safeguards to allow the jaguar into the house and then he came in behind them and grabbed Jasmine."

Juliette spun around, her face paling. "Oh, no, it was a trap after all. We feared so when we spotted a jaguar watching the battle. Jasmine. Are you all right?"

Jasmine nodded. "But he wasn't after me. He thought I was Solange. He actually called me by her name. I didn't react or deny it, but he was definitely after her."

Manolito sat back away from Luiz and wiped the back of his hand his forehead, leaving behind a smear of blood. "Luiz had been tainted by a vampire. The Malinov brothers are using the plan to gain control. They are destroying the jaguar race from within, just as we discussed when we were young. They are looking for royal blood, but I don't know why. I thought Juliette or Jasmine at first, but Luiz told me Solange is the target. A vampire has placed a compulsion within the men of the jaguar race to capture and turn her over to him." He sent his brother a quick mental recap of all that had transpired.

Juliette shook her head. "Solange is pureblood and of the royal line."

"Solange cannot stay on the island," Riordan said. "We have to take her to the ranch as soon as she is able to travel."

"She won't go," Juliette said.

"She spoke of going," Jasmine countered. "I think we can persuade her."

"Take her up to her room," Riordan ordered. "I'm going to get rid of the mess in here and clean up. This time we'll use only the safeguards never woven by mage."

"Burn the jaguar I killed. He was tainted by the vampire and would most likely be used again," Manolito advised. "I do not want him to be used by our enemies."

"What plan?" MaryAnn asked, watching Manolito's face closely.

He remained expressionless, but flicked a glance at his brother.

It was Riordan who answered. "We were very young and thought of ourselves as intellectuals. We thought we could make the world a better place."

"We thought we were superior to everyone around us," Manolito corrected. "We all had quick brains and fast reflexes. Few hunters were better. When we sat in the council circle, it was always Zacarias who came up with the strategies for battles. It was always one of us who managed to think up the ideas for keeping our people from heading toward disaster."

"What happened?" MaryAnn prompted.

Manolito sighed and dragged both hands through his hair. "Now I realize everyone's thoughts flowed together, flooding us with information. Our gifts allowed our brains to work fast to develop the answers we needed. That was what we contributed to the council meetings, just as everyone else had something of value to contribute. But back then we thought we knew the direction our people should go, and it wasn't the same as Vlad Dubrinsky decreed. He was prince then and our women were so few."

Riordan shook his head. "Back then there was little hope of finding a lifemate. Few children survived and none of them female. We all could see that the extinction of