Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
He screamed, leaping away from her. She ran, taking the stairs several at a time. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Shadow and Nikita’s leopard in a terrible battle. Filat tore his clothes from his body and shifted, his cat racing to Nikita’s leopard’s aid. She ran for her bedroom. Earlier, when she’d been trying to escape from Joshua, she had dropped a shotgun on her bed. She had extra ammunition for it as well.
The sounds in her great room were terrible to hear. She had to hurry. Joshua had deliberately forced both leopards into attacking him to give her the time to run. There was no leaving him behind. She shoved shells into her pocket and ran back to the top of the stairs. The two males fighting Shadow were using a tag team method, going in fast, slashing and biting and jumping out so the other could get in.
They clearly had used the method before. Shadow was fast. Both other cats were bloody, sides heaving, but so was Joshua’s leopard. She aimed at the leopard she knew to be Nikita. More than anything, for her mother, for Sasha, and even for her father, she wanted to kill him. She pulled the trigger just as he whirled in the air to renew his attack on Joshua.
The sound was loud, reverberating through the room. Behind Nikita, the cabinet disintegrated, wood flying in all directions. The leopards looked up at her, grimacing. Showing teeth. Calmly, she took aim again as Nikita’s leopard reared into the air, claws extended. Shadow met him in the air, raking at the older leopard with his stiletto-claws, going for his exposed genitals. Nikita’s leopard screamed and rolled away as they both hit the ground.
Filat turned to face her, his leopard’s expression menacing, his eyes wholly focused on his prey. She held her ground as he began a slow, freeze-frame stalk. Nikita was her first target. She squeezed the trigger as his leopard rolled. He screamed. Howled. Blood sprayed the air. Filat didn’t even turn to see the damage to his boss. He charged. She tried to slam bullets into the shotgun fast, knowing she wouldn’t make it. She transferred the gun to her other hand to use it like a bat just as Shadow landed hard on the leopard’s back.
Shadow was heavy with muscle and incredibly strong. He dug his claws in and sank his teeth deep into the neck. They rolled almost at her feet, but she ignored them, her eyes on Nikita’s leopard as he dragged himself to his feet. His hind end was bloody, but from the distance she’d been, she didn’t know how much damage the older shotgun would create.
The two leopards rolled down the stairs, Shadow never letting up on his hold of Filat’s raging cat. She walked down the stairs, watching Nikita’s leopard the entire time. He snarled at her. Growled a warning. He lowered his head, eyes focused in preparation of a charge. She lifted the shotgun, taking careful aim.
Nikita whirled around and raced toward the door just as she pulled the trigger. He screamed and wood disintegrated into splinters as he jerked open the door and ran through it. She raced after him. In the swamp, she’d give the advantage to the leopard. Gatita was too small and too inexperienced to fight him. She needed the shotgun.
The leopard had disappeared from view, but she saw a splash of blood in the grass just to the right of the verandah. She stepped back to get a better look and that saved her life. The cat sprang at her from above, trying to twist toward her when she moved back. He landed just feet from her. She pulled the trigger. It seemed impossible to miss at that close range, but she thought she had because Nikita’s leopard rolled at the last second.
He screamed again, indicating he might be hit, but the wounds had to be superficial. Blood specked his side and coated his right shoulder. He rushed her. Once again she thought to use the weapon as a bat, but she knew it was a flimsy defense against the big cat. He was almost on her, so close she felt the blast of hot air in her face. She swung the gun as hard as she could, using Gatita’s strength.
Shadow leapt out of the night, his front claws attaching to Nikita’s cat’s hind end. The leopard shrieked, the sound reverberating through the swamp. She hit. A solid strike that shook up her arm until she was numb. The two cats rolled away from her. She found herself on the ground, too close to the teeth and claws. Resolutely she stood and calmly inspected the weapon. She waited until Shadow had the cat on the ground again and she stepped closer to the raging leopards.