Coward, Beast thought again.

I blew out a hard breath and turned my thoughts inward. This time I gripped the Puma concolor fang on the gold chain and sank into the genetic structure stored there. This time the gray magics rose. This time I slid sideways into the magical forces, studying the new Vitruvian shape of my energies. They looked stable, like an illustration on a wall in a nuclear reactor.

Beast, ever impatient, reached out and extended her claws. Pricked the magics. The shift took me. Pain, pain, pain. I grunted breaths as my back arched and whipped forward, throwing me to the mud. And then I was lost to the shift.

* * *

• • •

Beast sat on Jane’s shoes, front paws in mud, sniffing, pulling in air over scent sacs in roof of mouth. It was good to be puma form. It was good to be in hunting territory. But it was also bad. Jane had seen prints in mud on track. Jane had smelled hog in heat. Jane had not looked beside track, in green plants. Where hunter had paced. Where hunter had followed deer, days past. Hunter on Beast’s territory. Jane had not smelled scent of trespasser.

Jane still slept. Beast did not know yet what to tell Jane.

Beast leaped into low tree and climbed high. Perched and scented. Hunter was werecat. Three werecats. One was female lion; one her lion mate. One was black wereleopard. Werecats had been on Beast’s hunting grounds. Werecats had pissed and shat, leaving spoor. Werecats had scratched on trees to sharpen claws. Werecats had left Beast and Jane messages on Beast’s own territory.

Asad and Nantale and Kem-cat had chased Beast’s deer but had not killed them. There was no scent of blood or death on air and no buzzards circled over old kill. Asad and Nantale had sharpened claws on trees and pissed on ground where Beast had pissed. Asad and Nantale had left message to say they knew where and when Beast hunted. To say their claws were long and could have killed Beast or Beast’s prey. It was threat, but it was weak like watered blood.

Weak because hunt on Jane’s land had occurred before Jane/Beast had hurt Kem-cat. Before Jane had torn claws through Asad’s plans and left them dead and ruined.

Kem-cat had wanted to be more than beta to Jane. Had wanted to kill Jane. Kem was now house kitten, mouser cat. Tamed to Rick’s hand. Threat that was no threat. Rick had pride to mate with and to protect like African lion. Kem was threat no more. Rick was Beast’s beta.

Asad and Nantale were humans in cat skin. If they challenged Beast, Beast would kill them. Beast thought about ways to kill lions. Must fight one at a time to win. Or grindy might fight and kill them.

Beast had much to think on but was hungry. Leaped to ground, landing silently. Pawpawpaw to pile of scat on ground. Beast bent and drew in scent, what Jane called flehmen, pulling air over scent sacs in mouth. Kem had smelled healthy and full of male hormones. Also of anger and hunger and frustration and longing.

Kem was tamed. But Kem had access to witches. If Kemnebi did not stay tamed, if Kem-cat came back, Beast would kill him too. Kill him and leave his body to rot and to feed buzzards. Jane might not like this, but Jane was asleep and Beast would not share territory. Beast turned away from spoor and leaped into trees, moving from branch to branch toward water.

Beast hunted alli-gator from trees, along water that coiled like snake. Leaping limb to limb. Silent. Beast found sleeping alli-gator, stretched out on bank of water, half-buried in mud. Alli-gator was longer than Jane body. Alli-gator was longer than Beast body and tail. Female alli-gator was big. Beast hungered after shift. Needed food. Beast territory had been invaded. Beast needed to kill. Beast needed to fight. Wanted to fight and kill and eat.

Gathered paws close beneath body. Slowed breathing. Stared at place on back of alli-gator neck, just below head/skull. Place where spine joined head.

Beast dropped.

Landed. Four paws to mud. To either side of head. Fall gave fangs and jaws power. Slammed down, mouth open. Bit down on alli-gator.

Alli-gator whipped whole body. Rolled. Rolled over Beast, through mud. Beast bit deeper, through hard skin. Through flesh. Into bones. Gator rolled. Rolled. Trying to throw off Beast. Rolled toward water. Other alli-gators were there, watching. Beast fought roll. But Beast paw was too close to alli-gator teeth. Gator teeth bit down on paw. Painpainpain, like shifting but more. More pain. Alli-gator shook head, tearing Beast flesh. Holding Beast paw, alli-gator rolled. Beast shoved down with three paws to stop roll. Alli-gator would roll into water. Would drown Beast and feed Beast to all alli-gators if she could. Beast did not let go of alli-gator. Alli-gator did not let go of Beast paw.

Alli-gator thrashed. Whipped tail. Hurt Beast. Would win if Beast did not kill now. But alli-gator skin was harder than last alli-gator Beast had hunted. Alli-gator was bigger than last alli-gator.

Beast bit down and down and down. Clamping jaw tight. Bones crunched. Teeth passed bones and into spongy meat. Was brain. Alli-gator mouth opened. Dropped Beast paw. Gator closed eyes. Opened eyes. Thrashing slowed. Stopped. Except for tip of tail. Was dying. Beast is best hunter.

Limping, Beast carried/dragged long alli-gator into brush. Dropped alli-gator on bluff of ground and lay on top of prey. Licked paw. Was bad bite. If Beast could not shift into Jane and heal, Beast would have only three legs. Beast would die. Injury had happened before, many times, when Beast was alpha and Jane was beta. Shifting to Jane had kept Beast alive. Beast had learned to be glad that Jane had stolen body. But Beast had not told Jane this. Would not tell now. Beast licked own blood and chuffed at thinking human thoughts. Beast was more than puma.

* * *

• • •

I woke to the sound/scent/taste of fresh-caught gator being devoured. Fangs ripped through hard, knobby, armored skin into meaty flesh. Mud was everywhere, all over the gator and all over Beast, a thick, gummy, drying, crumbling, dark mess. Blood was mixed with the mud, a deeper, darker gray in Beast’s sight. Flies were buzzing me/us, lazily dropping to feast and lay eggs. I caught a glimpse of two buzzards in a tree, patiently waiting for Beast to finish her meal. The sky was less bright, the sun only a few inches over the horizon. It would set soon. It was time to get back to HQ, to work, to politics which I hated, to security measures which I loved. But it was peaceful here, in the mud. Calm, despite the death that made the meal valuable.

I felt pain, however, and when Beast blinked, I saw the damage to her paw. Two toes were ripped nearly off, claws hanging. The central pad of the paw was torn. Not all the blood was the gator’s. The gator got you. That your only injury?

Beast tore through entrails and gorged on organ meat. It was an odd taste combination of intestinal/fishy/livery/lung-ish meat.

You not talking to me?

Beast is best hunter.

I know. I caught sight of the tail. Wait a minute. How big was this gator?

Was big. If Beast had kits, would take tail to den to teach kits how to eat meat.

Holy crap. This thing was, like, twelve feet long.

Was big.

It bit you, but you sound pleased with yourself.

Alli-gator bit Beast. Alli-gator is dead. Beast is best hunter.

Okay. I agree. Crap, that’s a big mama gator.

Beast is best hunter. Beast must kill Kemnebi.

I went still and quiet. Kem is tamed.

Kemnebi has hunted in Beast territory. Kem left spoor. Challenged Beast. Beast must kill.

I thought how to explain the danger her plans presented. To kill Kemnebi outside of self-defense means Ricky-Bo would have to fight Beast. And Rick is PsyLED.

Beast stopped ripping flesh. Swallowed a large gobbet of meat from tail. Rick would fight Beast? Rick could become alpha over Jane? Put Beast in cage?

Technically yes.

Beast will kill Kem-cat where Ricky-Bo cannot find kill. Or in what Jane calls self-defense. Beast tore more food, thinking. What is self-defense?

If Kem attacked Beast in cat form, for no reason, and Beast killed Kem, that would be self-defense.

Beast licked her jaws. Flipped the tip of her own tail at the buzzards to show them alligator food was still Beast’s. Will think on self-defense. But will kill Kemnebi if Kem-cat comes onto Beast territory to hunt again.

I figured it was the best I was going to get. Okay.

Want to go home. Home to mountains.

I had nothing to say to that.

* * *

• • •

At dusk, I woke up in human form in a decent place, no mud, not lying in the middle of a dead gator, which I had halfway expected, and close to my SUV. That part was fortunate because Beast had spent so much time rolling in mud that the gobag was muddied through and through, including my clothes, which had somehow come out of the plastic zip bag. I had more clothes in the SUV.