Both leopards rolled and came to their feet, reared up on hind legs, slashing and biting at their opponent. The leopard retreated first, falling back a few steps, sides heaving and bloody. Eli watched him warily. Circled slowly to the left. The leopard seemed to be favoring one side, down close to his hind legs, as if when Eli dropped from the roof, he’d managed to injure the heavily muscled leopard.

Cordeau’s lieutenant suddenly made a run for the house, trying to burst past Eli’s larger black panther. Eli realized immediately what he was doing. He wanted to warn Cordeau that Eli had killed the other two leopards and was much stronger and more combat experienced than any of them had counted on.

Eli cut him off, slamming him to the ground. The leopard rolled toward the tree line and Eli followed, raking at the injured hind end again, trying to hamstring him with vicious claws. He kept pushing him away from the ranch house, driving him back toward the trees. With each swipe of his claws, he dug deeper, did more damage until the leopard had no choice but to turn and defend himself.

Eli was on him in a second, using his superior strength and speed, rearing up with the leopard to rake the belly and get a strangling bite on his opponent’s throat. He drove his teeth deep into the throat, and held him there. The leopard writhed, raked, fought, but Eli refused to relinquish his deadly hold. At no time had the leopard made a sound to warn his boss, and Eli realized that there was a scar deep in the leopard’s throat, as if he’d suffered an injury there.

It took a long time for the fight to go out of the tawny leopard. He hung, panting, his eyes wild, the knowledge of his imminent death in his eyes. Eli held him and watched the life drain out of him, not able to take a chance that he could warn Cordeau that Eli was on the loose and hunting.

When he was certain the leopard was dead, Eli dropped him to the ground, shifted just enough to check for a pulse and then whirled to race back toward the house. He knew the moment he set his paw on the porch that Cordeau and Catarina were gone. The panther scented the female and also the male trying to take his mate. He let out a roar of challenge. The sound reverberated through the early morning air.

Eli pushed into the screen to smell blood. Catarina’s blood. She was injured. The black panther whirled and rushed after his mate, running full speed, following the scent of stark fear and blood.

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