Tribe Protector

by Stacy Jones

  A s if by some mutually understood sign, they all simultaneously put on a burst of speed, running faster than almost any human could hope to, their powerful leg muscles powering them forward.

  They managed to put a bit more distance between them and the advancing pantari until twenty feet became forty, but she knew they couldn’t maintain their pace.

  Lily thought she saw someone running behind the beasts, thought she caught a glimpse of a humanoid figure covered in shaggy brown fur, running on two legs and with the face of a… werewolf?

  What the fuck is that?

  She knew she wasn’t imagining things when a growling, animalistic voice came faintly from that direction, but she was both stunned and horrified when the pantari responded to that call by yipping and snarling in bloodthirsty anticipation.

  Is that… thing giving them commands?

  Speculation exploded in her mind, replacing her panic with equally chaotic thoughts. Snippets of conversations she’d overheard from the tribe and things the guys had mentioned started to form a terrible realization.

  Most said the pantari had been hunting the shevari people as long as they could remember… but there had been one woman who disagreed.

  Lily was sure the woman was the oldest member of the tribe. Her markings were grey, her back bowed, and her growling voice scratchy with age, but Lily had heard her mutterings in the hollow of the Mother Tree during her first time there.

  She said the pantari had begun hunting the shevari when she was young and had just started her harem. But before that they had hunted smaller animals and left the shevari alone.

  What if someone—possibly someone dumped on the planet by the fish aliens or even a different race of kidnappers—had, for reasons Lily couldn’t fathom, begun training the beasts to hunt and kill shevari?

  From what she’d seen of Trrak’s behavior it made sense.

  The cub never showed any signs of natural aggression toward her or the shevari and seemed perfectly happy eating the various fruits and vegetables while occasionally hunting the large flightless birds that hopped along the forest floor. He was only maybe a month old so it was possible that aggression would develop later, but she wasn’t convinced of that.

  She tried to catch another glimpse of the werewolf-looking person, but other than another incomprehensible yelled command, she didn’t see him again.

  Lily was prepared this time when Drrak leapt without warning, because she was stiff as a fucking board, despite the jouncing of her body, and holding onto him like her life depended on it, which it absolutely did.

  They landed on the thick branch with a thud, followed closely by Arruk carrying Trrak. Drrak set her down then threw off his burdens. He only kept his spear, shorter than what most carried, and his four stone knives before he dropped back down. Arruk set Trrak down and turned to follow him.

  She tried to grab them both before they could leave her but only managed to brush their backs with her fingertips.

  “Wait! Come back, I have a plan!” she cried, but they weren’t listening. “Goddamnit !”

  She watched, horrified, as they formed a line at the base of the tree, their spears held securely in front of them. The four massive pantari slowed, their thunderous footsteps replaced by equally loud growls and snarls as they spread out in a semicircle.

  They paused for only a second before they lunged, hinged jaws open wide.

  Spinning away, Lily ignored the burning trail of tears dripping down her cheeks and tried to block the thwacks, snarls, and fierce battle cries coming from below as her guys met the attack .

  Her hands were shaking violently as she struggled to untie the long length of vine holding the bundle of sticks for bows and her breathing was ragged with panic.

  Bundling one end of the vine in her hand, she tossed it over the branch above her.

  Catching it as it uncoiled, she stretched up on her tiptoes, trying to tie it to the limb.

  A short scream burst from her when her foot slipped, tipping her off balance. She had a painfully clear moment to understand she was going to fall.

  Grasping desperately for the hanging vine, she tried to catch it to stop herself but missed.

  She would have fallen if Trrak hadn’t bitten the hem of her cardigan dress and caught her at the last second.

  She stared wide-eyed at the ground so far below as she hovered, her upper body hanging in mid air for a split second. The sound of fabric tearing was like a gunshot. Her body tipped forward another few inches before Trrak gave a hard yank and pulled her back upright.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. I almost died.

  “G-good boy, Trrak,” she stuttered, her teeth clacking together as the adrenaline rush made her entire body tremble.

  More careful now but no less urgently, Lily quickly knotted the vine around the limb then tied the other end around her waist. Snatching up her spear, she ran to the end of the branch and leaned out, hoping desperately it would hold her and that she hadn’t taken too long.

  Please, please, please…

  Scanning the fight below, she tried to see if any of her guys were hurt.

  She thought she saw blood on Frrar’s stomach, but he was moving too quickly for her to be sure.

  She saw the purplish blood of the pantari splashed on the ground, staining their white and yellow fur, but all four were still alive and trying doggedly to kill her men.

  The size difference between them and the beasts was shocking. She knew they were massive, but seeing Arruk and Drrak, who were at least six-foot-seven, look like children as they stabbed and slashed was chilling. They didn’t even come up to the animals’ shoulders.

  Focusing back on the beasts themselves, she tried to track their movements, tried to predict when one would be close enough for her to stab. She didn’t have to wait long. No more than two breaths later, one of the more wounded animals moved almost directly below her.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she let herself fall forward, keeping her feet firmly planted.

  She grunted in pain when the vine around her waist snapped tight, but it held. Uttering a muffled scream, she aimed for the beast’s neck, only maybe four feet below.

  Nausea cramped her stomach when she heard and felt the skin pop as it gave way beneath the stone tip of her spear, but she gritted her teeth and stabbed as deeply as she could.

  Its yelp was piercing as it spun around and tried to bite the spear out of its neck. Gripping the shaft with both hands, she heaved herself backward, pulling it free with a spray of blood and a horrifying sucking sound.

  She was still wobbling as she tried to keep her feet and watched in what felt like slow motion as it leapt at her, its jaws snapping mere inches from her face.

  She felt the whoosh of air as it tried to bite her, felt its hot, fetid breath gust nauseatingly against her skin, saw the sun glint off its countless yellowed fangs from entirely too close before it thudded back to the ground.

  She heard Tor shout at her but ignored him and tried to swallow her heart back down.

  Blocking out Trrak’s anxious warbles behind her, Tor’s screams at her, and the battle raging on the ground, Lily prepared to lunge again.

  Timing her jab for the animal’s next leap, she felt everything slow as it hunkered low then jumped.

  She drew the spear back and threw herself forward, letting gravity aid her thrust.

  She felt the beast’s sharp teeth graze her arm, felt the burn as her skin tore and blood rushed from the wound, but she didn’t falter.

  The tip of her spear sank deep into the pantari’s black eye.

  It was dead before it hit the ground, but it took her spear with it, the wound on her arm stealing her strength so she couldn’t pull the spear free.

  The resounding thump of its massive body hitting the forest floor was loud enough that it caught the attention of the other animals, turning their focus from her men to her.

  Oh fuck…

  F rrar felt his heart stop beating for a long moment as all the pantari spu
n away from them to zero in on the dead beast, then up to Lily hanging from a vine in the tree, dangling in the air like bait.

  Ignoring the pain in his stomach from the claw slashes he hadn’t been fast enough to dodge, he ran, digging his feet into the dirt to propel him forward.

  He roared loud enough to burn his throat, trying to regain their attention and, though he knew the chances were slim, in a desperate hope that someone, anyone , from the tribe would hear him and come to their aid.

  Tor, Arruk, and Drrak joined him, adding their battle cries to his as they, too, ran after the beasts.

  Crouching mid-step, he pushed off and jumped onto the closest pantari’s back. His knives, already slick with blood, were still gripped tightly in his upper hands as he buried his lower pair in the animal’s fur and clamped his legs around its huge middle to hold on.

  Stabbing fast and hard with every ounce of his strength, he tried to at least slow it down, though he knew he wouldn’t kill it. The hide of its back was thick, too thick for any of his wounds to be killing blows.

  Mid-stab, Frrar felt a punch between his shoulders, hard enough to knock the breath from him and drive him forward against its back.

  He looked over his shoulder in time to see its sharp, pointed tail rearing back to prepare for another strike. Ducking quickly, he felt the wind move as it passed just over his head.

  Staying hunched over to avoid the stabbing tail, he pulled his way farther up its back. His progress was slow, and he nearly lost his grip when it started to buck and thrash, trying to throw him off.

  He’d almost made it to its neck, when it skidded to a stop and whipped around. The movement sent him falling off the side of the pantari. The only thing that stopped him from flying off completely was the tight, tangled grip he barely maintained with one of his lower hands in its thick fur.

  Frrar felt a sickening pop in his lower arm as he halted his fall, and had to grit his teeth to hold back his agonized scream.

  Blinking past the dizziness caused by the intense pain, he heaved his body backward, using the pantari’s movement to aid him and kicked off its stomach with his feet.

  Swinging forward in an arch on his wounded lower right arm, he fought through the blackness trying to crowd into his vision and lashed out with the two knives somehow still held in his two left arms despite his fall, the gut-twisting pain, and its thrashing.

  His blades hit their mark, sinking into the thinner skin of the pantari’s throat. Using all his failing strength, he roared and buried them as deeply as he could then pulled, slashing its throat until he felt blood gush over his arms .

  He felt it stumble and yanked frantically at his hand, trying to let go before it fell and crushed him, but his hand was tangled in its fur and his fingers weren’t working right.

  The ground rushed up to meet him. Redoubling his efforts, he managed to snatch his hand out of the fur just in time. Frrar threw his weight backward, narrowly avoiding being squashed as it dropped to the ground and slid bonelessly along the forest floor.

  The impact when Frrar hit the ground stunned him nearly senseless and sent a fresh spike of agony through his arm and the claw slashes on his stomach.

  Frrar heard Lily scream his name as if from far away and blinked hard before heaving himself over onto his stomach. He had to get up before she dropped to the ground to help him. He knew his maddeningly brave mate would do exactly that, despite the danger, if he didn’t get up right now .

  Pushing unsteadily to his feet, he stumbled and shook his head to clear the encroaching darkness from his vision, feeling something tickle the skin on the top of his head .

  Scanning around him, he saw Drrak and Arruk attacking a pantari together while Tor used his speed to stab at the other, dodging its huge, swiping claws and the snaps of its fang-filled jaws.

  Running unsteadily toward Tor, he palmed his remaining knife, having lost the other when he fell.

  His head felt fuzzy, every step sent pain through his arm and stomach, and the vision in one eye was blurry as his own blood blinded him, but he didn’t hesitate.

  Gathering himself, he roared as he ran to his brother’s aid.

  Lily ignored the pain in her bleeding arm and frantically tied her knife to the end of a limb she’d broken off the tree as she kept her gaze glued to Frrar, her heart pounding so hard it hurt.

  He was stumbling and bleeding profusely from a gash on his head as he ran to Tor. He had a concussion, at the very least, but he was still rushing to help.

  Gripping her makeshift spear, she shook off Trrak, who was biting her dress as if he knew what she planned and was trying to stop her.

  She finally got him to let go and was just preparing to swing down on her vine when something thudded onto the branch behind her.

  Screaming, she and Trrak whipped around. The cub growled and lunged forward while Lily swung her spear like a baseball bat, instantly terrified the werewolf person had snuck up on them.

  Rork’s face barely registered before he dodged her blow like some kind of fucking ninja, leapt over a charging Trrak, and, faster than she could track, stepped into her to pin her arms by her sides.

  “Oh thank fuck! Help him!” she yelled, but he was already sidestepping her and leaping to the ground below.

  Lok, who’d landed right behind Rork and barely avoided the cub’s snapping jaws, almost followed him down but she lunged and just managed to snag his tail in her left hand before he could. He whipped a shocked look back at her and tried to shake her loose.

  “Not you! I need your help!”

  Knowing he couldn’t understand her, she gave up on communication and pulled him toward her by his tail. Quickly untying the vine around her waist, Lily took advantage of his momentary stillness and proceeded to climb up the front of his body like a monkey, not the easiest task to begin with but made harder by the fact that she was still gripping her new spear in her wounded right hand.

  He looked flabbergasted and was frozen stiff, all four arms held out to his sides as if afraid to touch her.

  Urgency stole all her patience, not to mention her gentleness. She didn’t have time to cater to his shock. Flicking the tip of his sensitive ear, she tugged at his neck and pointed demandingly in the direction she thought the hairy, pantari-controlling person was hidden.

  She didn’t plan to get close enough for the person to attack them directly, just close enough that she could hopefully throw her spear at them.

  Maybe if it left, the pantari would follow or at least stop attacking her men.

  It was the best plan she could come up with. She knew if she dropped to the ground her guys would be vulnerable, because they would try to protect her, aside from the possibility of breaking something from the fall.

  She’d been willing to risk it when she thought Frrar wasn’t able to get back up. But now that he’d gotten up and she had help, she could follow her original plan—the one her infuriating mates didn't stop to listen to before they abandoned her in the fucking tree and left to fight giant alligator-tigers.

  Lok, after flinching from her ear flick, seemed to catch on to what she wanted and took off, swinging through the trees in the direction she indicated, much, much faster than she was used to. While the speed would normally have been enough to scare the shit out of her, now she was thankful for it.

  Gripping him tightly, not caring at all that she was staining his white fur with the blood still leaking from the wound on her arm that was wrapped around his neck, she kept her head turned to watch for any signs of brown fur sticking out from the black and white foliage.

  They went farther than she anticipated, and she was fighting her anxiety to get back to her men, when a flash of brown caught her eye.

  Pushing on Lok’s chest, she urged him to slow down then pointed from her ear to the spot in the trees where she’d seen the movement. She saw his ears swivel forward as he dropped to land almost silently on a branch.

  Sliding down his body, she turned to scan the trees ahead, strain
ing to find that flash of brown again.

  Getting his attention again, she pointed to her eyes with one hand and aimed her spear with the other, moving it in a slow sweep. Lok’s glass-green eyes bounced from hers to her ears, down to her spear then into the forest ahead.

  Lily could see the moment he understood.

  His back went ramrod straight, and his ears angled so far forward she thought it must hurt while his eyes narrowed in concentration.

  After a second, he honed in on one spot and reached out to guide her spear over until it was pointing in the right direction. Nodding his head, he let go and took a step away, obviously understanding she would need the room.

  Bracing her feet, she took a deep breath to steady herself then cocked her arm back. Putting every ounce of power within her behind the heave, she grunted as she threw her spear forward, her entire body twisting with the movement, sending her stumbling forward and almost off the limb.

  Lok caught her around the waist, pulling her back against his chest, but Lily didn’t pay any attention.

  Her entire focus was locked onto her flying spear, her eyes glued to it as she willed it to find its target.

  A split second after it disappeared into the branches, she heard a thwack followed by a deep, yelping cry.

  L ily had no desire to stick around to see how badly she’d wounded the monster person. It could have been a grazing blow. And if he was well enough to decide to attack them, she didn’t want to be there waiting for it like an idiot.

  A thought crossed her mind, and she wanted to slap herself.

  Why hadn’t she thought to use the poison in the pouch tied to her vine? If Drrak was right, it would have killed him, no matter where she’d managed to hit him.

  Fuck!

  Wanting to scream at herself but knowing now wasn’t the time, she turned back to Lok. She stepped into him and raised her arms.