Chapter 18

“Get out of the way, you fools. We’re on a mission. If you move off and give us room to work, no one will get hurt. Quit serving your employers who enslave you just as they do these defenseless creatures. Don’t let them exploit you and these animals.”

Another big shifter stepped forward to confront the unkempt, bearded leader. “I don’t think so,” he said. “Whatever you plan to try, you’ll have to go through me to do it.”

With that, he shifted, shredding the gym shorts and T-shirt he wore. In seconds, he had morphed into a full-sized male African lion. At the signal of his shift, others of the cats began to change as well. Confronted with a group of snarling cats ranging from ocelots and bobcats to cheetahs, panthers, leopards, pumas, tigers and lions, most of the invading group skidded to a halt. Many whirled and fled, screaming with hysteria. Others froze, unable to believe their eyes or too stunned to react.7