by Delta James
“So, you have no argument with me personally... except for any damage done to your cabin, which I would be happy to pay for.”
“Your brothers were fools, but I’m not. In order to save face, you have to avenge their deaths in some way. If you don’t, I understand those in your clutch would replace you and that is a bloody and violent process.”
“You are well educated about my kind,” said Koto thoughtfully.
“Wasn’t it Sun Tzu who said ‘know your enemy’?”
“A Kodiak that thinks and not just reacts, an admirable adversary. So, you will not give either of the Montgomerys up?”
“My mate or her brother? Hardly. And make a play for them, for my brother or his family or anyone else under my protection, and no band of security men or assassins will stop me from ripping your throat out and making a pair of boots out of your scaly hide.”
“So, we are at an impasse...”
“No, Koto, you and I are at war unless you choose to settle this with single combat.”
“We both know I would lose in any contest with you. And you are right, my clutch will kill me if I do not show them I have avenged my brothers’ deaths.”
“You better come for me soon. I have already let it be known in Seattle’s shifter community that your brothers died by my hand. Your options are limited. Fight me and die, or give up your empire and crawl back beneath whatever rock you slithered out from under.”
Alex disconnected. It had occurred to him as he talked to Koto that there really was only one way for this to end... Koto either retreated to some sunny island where his clutch might not be bothered to come after him or he fought Alex and most likely died. He didn’t envy the lizard’s choices.
Chapter Ten
Flynn made the relative safety of the trees. She continued up the incline, hoping that at the top of the ridge she would be able to get an idea about where she was and how best to proceed. Once she got to the top, she ventured out from the woods and scanned the horizon. She could see the ocean and what she believed to be the remains of Port William. Once a thriving community, it had become a virtual ghost town used only as a destination to ferry tourists. There wouldn’t be any help there, but it was at the southernmost tip of the island across a narrow strait of water. It might be possible to flag down a boat to get away.
She made her way down what most might call a mountain, but in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska was merely a large hill. The footing was loose and therefore precarious, but her boots offered good support and tread. She had almost reached the outskirts of the town when she heard a heavy crunch behind her. Flynn whirled around expecting to see Alex in either his bear or human form... When had thinking of him that way become normal? Instead, what she saw were two large monitor lizards. The Komodos had called in reinforcements.
* * *
The phone call with Koto had left Alex in an oddly exhilarated mood. There was a part of him that felt he should be apprehensive and on edge. After all, he had basically declared war on Koto and his clutch of Komodos. But the idea of a physical battle and protecting his mate filled him with a sense of purpose and lust. He smiled. Any thoughts that even touched on Flynn brought forth a new surge of arousal. He needed to end this fight with Koto so that he could fully engage in the battle to bring Flynn into the clan.
His comment to her before he left, that he planned to fuck her again upon his return had not been idle. She had best get used to the fact that he was not often subtle or romantic and that she would serve his more-than-healthy libido. Flynn might make a token protest or snarl at him afterwards, but he had yet to plunge his cock to the depths of her cunt and not find it warm, wet, and alive with sensation. His mate was wildly responsive and had a deep well of passion he intended to explore more fully. For now, he almost hoped she wouldn’t be waiting and there would be some sign she had tried to escape. He found that spanking Flynn served as excellent foreplay for them both.
Alex was skirting the outer rim of the ridge that held his den when he spied footprints—ones too small to be made by a man and most definitely human. Flynn. He broke into a run and headed for the hidden escape tunnel from the cavern. There was the proof of her cleverness. Somehow, Flynn had found the secret emergency exit and managed to open it and use it. Once again, she had left him and was headed into a danger she couldn’t possibly comprehend. When he caught up to her, not only would she understand the danger from Koto, but she would be fully cognizant of the consequences of defying him.
He realized as he tracked her that she hadn’t bothered to try and hide her tracks. Knowing he could make better time in his bear form, Alex undressed, gathered his clothing, boots, and weapon, and called forth his bear self. Picking up the bundle, he began racing after her. He couldn’t help but be proud of her. Instead of heading straight down the side of the cliff, she had gone up and away from the direction they’d come. She was finding a vantage point. Unfortunately for Flynn, he knew where she’d most likely head... Port William.
Alex loped along the side of the hill until he intersected with her footprints. That was all well and good until he found the second and third sets of tracks that were following hers. He picked up the pace and raced towards Port William. It was mostly likely deserted at this time of year so a perfect place for Koto’s people to exact revenge on him and Flynn. If they harmed so much as one hair on her head, he would kill them, dispose of their bodies, and exact a terrible revenge on Koto and his entire clutch. If Flynn managed to keep herself safe, he would find a place to stash them and then determine how to exact the maximum leverage from their failure... and Flynn would learn the consequences for defying her mate.
The scent wafting up from the tracks told him that two Komodo dragons were trailing Flynn. She was still ahead of them, but he doubted that she had any idea that she was in danger. He increased his speed.
* * *
The two lizards realized they now had their prey in sight and that she knew they were there. Unlike Alex, they were far quicker and more nimble in their human form. The larger of the two wriggled out of the bundle he had carried. The air around them seemed to shimmer and the two Komodos became large, well-muscled, naked men. Unwrapping the bundle, they each withdrew a handgun with a silencer.
Flynn headed for one of the abandoned warehouses down by the docks. She needed to find a place where she could set herself up to take her best shot. She had used guns before and was a decent shot. She remembered once hearing that if you were trying to ensure whoever you shot at would be incapable of coming after you to aim for dead center mass. That way if you weren’t an expert, the chances are you would still hit something.
She could hear them running behind her, gaining ground with each stride. She spotted an opening in the wall of one of the warehouses. The idea of being trapped inside flitted across her mind, but the ability to hide and find a secure location from which to shoot outweighed the uncertain safety of open ground. She slipped through the opening and spied a likely set of boxes that would offer her some protection as well as a place to brace her rifle.
Later, she would swear she never heard a gunshot. She felt a hot, stabbing pain in her chest as blood burst through her sweater. It was as if her body was operating on an engine and someone flipped the off switch. Her arms flew up, the rifle flying out of her grasp as her legs carried her one... two... three steps and she collapsed. The last thing she heard before the darkness descended was the roar of an angry Kodiak bear... Alex most likely. The thought passed through the last of her consciousness to be grateful that he had come after her and would avenge her death and how sad it was that she hadn’t had the courage to explore what might have been between them.
* * *
Alex saw Flynn dash into the warehouse followed closely by the two Komodos. He heard the report of a silenced weapon and saw Flynn fall as he burst through an exterior window into the dark, cavernous space, lit by dirty windows that only allowed minimal light through the grimy windows. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dar
kness as he charged her assailants, roaring in anger, fear, and grief. The two assassins sent by Koto barely had time to process that there had been a sound, much less the threat that sound represented. Alex body slammed into the one closest to him, knocking him out of the way.
He rounded on the first man as he rolled away and shifted into a Komodo dragon. The beast lumbered towards him, its massive jaws snapping, trying to sink its serrated teeth into any one of Alex’s limbs. Alex swung his massive paw, catching the creature under its jaw, slamming its jaw shut and flipping it up and away from where it could harm either him or Flynn.
He turned back to the first man as he shook his head, getting to his feet. Alex shifted back to his human form, grasped the man by either side of his head and twisted, snapping his neck cleanly. He heard the second assassin trying to make a run for it. Glancing at Flynn and seeing the red stain spreading across her chest, he shifted and rushed after the man who had brought her down. Flynn’s remaining assailant hadn’t made the door when Alex caught him, spinning him around before slashing his jugular with his razor-sharp claws and watching the man’s blood bubble as he gurgled and the light fled from his eyes.
Shifting back, he ran to Flynn, dropping and sliding on his knees so that he could cradle her in his arms.
“Oh, God, Flynn...” he cried, lifting her as gently as he could so that her upper body was leaning against his thighs.
The blood continued to seep out of the wound in her chest. It was no longer gushing, but he could see its proximity to her heart influencing the rhythm with which it pumped. Her eyes flickered open and he thought he saw the ghost of a smile cross her lips. She raised her hand weakly and touched his cheek in a gesture of acceptance and farewell. If she thought she would escape her destiny with him by dying, she had best have another thought.
Alex jerked his hunting knife from its sheath and sliced open one of his veins on the underside of his wrist. Quickly he pressed the gash to her injury, forcing his own life’s blood into her and willing her to live. He watched as her eyes shuttered closed and her body trembled as it tried to find peace in death. He could feel her life slipping away.
“Don’t die, Flynn. Live!” he whispered. Had he been too late? Had the damage to her frail human system been too great?
He continued to press the underside of his forearm to her open wound. A wave of dizziness passed through him, but he shook it off, refusing to remove the only chance she had at not succumbing to death’s siren song. If he could infuse enough of his blood with hers, he could initiate the change. That would, in theory, force some of the internal damage done by the would-be assassin’s bullet to begin to heal itself. There were written accounts of humans being turned when they were near death. Some had survived; some had not. Alex willed Flynn to be one of the former.
Normally, the turning of one’s mate was done at their bonding ceremony. The couple would each make a deep, ritualized cut in the palm of their hand. The hands would then be bound together with a special sash. The benefits of the change, if successful, were almost instantaneous. Whether or not the transition would result in the recipient surviving and being turned could take a few days to several weeks. During that time, the beneficiary of the gift was cared for generally by the one who had initiated the change or that Kodiak’s family and friends. If the recipient’s body rejected becoming a shifter, it was almost always swift and usually fatal.
Alex rocked back, his heart constricting in guilt and grief. What had he done? His actions had set in motion the events that had brought them here. Granted, he had done what he had to save his brother and then Flynn, but he had failed to kill the remaining Koto brother and now he had exacted his revenge. His actions had been instrumental in bringing about her death. The pain caused him to keen in a mournful sound that filled and reverberated throughout the abandoned building. He could feel her life slipping away and vowed to destroy Koto and his entire clutch.
He couldn’t tear his eyes from her and watched as her breathing became more shallow and irregular. He knew she was near the end and he leaned down, kissing her gently.
“I love you, my mate; your death will not go unavenged and our people will mourn your passing.”
He couldn’t take his eyes from her face. If she opened her eyes again, he wanted her to know she wasn’t alone and that a part of his spirit would accompany her into the afterlife. He would sing her death song.
“Great Spirit, my mate, the other half of my soul waits on death’s doorstep. I would ask that you return her to me, but if you cannot do so, then take her and welcome her at your council fire. She is wild and untried in the ways of our people, but she carries my blood and embodies those things that are at the core of our being—courage, strength, and honor.”
Alex sat holding her, praying that she was not in pain or afraid. He couldn’t take his eyes off the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Little by little, her breathing evened out and the blood that had once seeped unobstructed from her chest, slowed to a trickle, and then stopped. Fearing the worst, Alex placed his ear to her chest; her heartbeat was weak but growing steady. Setting her down carefully, he left her momentarily to retrieve the sat phone.
“King?” came Yutu’s voice over the line.
“Yutu, I need a medic and one of the seaplanes at the old warehouse in Port William.”
“What are you doing there?”
He smiled as he cradled Flynn in his arms.
“Witnessing a miracle.”
“What?” asked the normally stoic Yutu incredulously.
“Unless I am sadly mistaken, I am watching my mate claw her way back from the brink of death. She should be dead... they put a hole in her chest.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to have the hospital send a life flight?”
“She is beyond their help and capability. Koto’s assassins shot her. The bullet should have killed her. I couldn’t just watch her die without doing something.”
The air hung heavy between them with silence.
“You turned her, didn’t you?” Yutu whispered.
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice and it was not yours to make,” he admonished.
“She was incapable of making it. Regardless, I would have turned her when we took our vows.”
Alex could hear movement on the other end of the phone.
“Alex?” asked Josh.
“Does Yutu have our people en route?” demanded Alex.
He was alpha to the clan; his word was law and would be accepted and obeyed unless someone wanted to challenge him for leadership.
“Yes. Of course, but Alex...”
“There is no but, Josh. She is my mate. She was dying and I did what was necessary to save her. She can have the rest of our lives to rail at me for that decision, but she, like the rest of you, will have to accept that. If someone wants to dispute my right to make that decision...”
“Don’t be an ass. No one is going to challenge you. You are too well liked and respected. The Clan has thrived under your rule. I’m just saying that there may be some who question whether or not you had the right to make that decision.”
“Your Allie among them?” asked Alex.
“Not if you lead with you’ve been head over heels in love with her for more than two years and she was dying. She’s a bit of a romantic, my Allie.”
“She is my mate. She is subject to my rule and I did what I had to in order to save her so she could bear our offspring.”
“Trust me, the head over heels thing is the way to go... especially with your Flynn. She may not be all that thrilled about you having usurped her humanity.”
“If that’s the only thing...”
“Only thing?”
“Only thing she objects to, I will count myself most fortunate. I rather suspect it will be the least of the things she takes issue with. Besides, if I hadn’t replaced some of her blood with mine, she wouldn’t have survived. The internal damage is already repairing itself but s
he’s going to need time to recover... before I beat her pretty ass for almost getting herself killed.”
Josh laughed. “And they say romance is dead. Yutu says the plane should be there in thirty to forty minutes. Are you planning to bring her back here?”
“Yes, away from prying eyes. My mate is a woman of strong passions, which often lead her to make foolish decisions. She will need to learn that she is subject to my authority and that when she misbehaves or endangers herself that she will pay the price for her actions.”
“I would think having her humanity stolen without any say-so is more than enough.”
“Perhaps, but she was going to become Kodiak...”
“Because you said so?” Josh laughed again. “Let me know how that works for you. Wait, Yutu wants to speak to you.”
“My Chieftain, your lodge is being prepared,” the elder member of the clan said in a flat, but respectful tone.
“You don’t approve.”
“Your actions do not require my approval or consent.”
“I am aware of that, but nonetheless, you don’t. Your Lena isn’t shifter born...”
“And gave her consent freely. She is a handful on the best of days. I’m not questioning what you did. In those circumstances I would have done the same. I’m just saying you might want to come at the whole, ‘oh by the way, you’re no longer human’ thing in a little less dictatorial manner than you are inclined to do. From what Josh has shared, your Flynn makes my Lena look like the sweetest, most malleable of mates.”
Alex chuckled softly. Referring to Lena as a handful was a gross understatement. He had shared many a campfire with Yutu when Lena needed something soft to sit on.
“But the best mates are always those with the most spirit. And even those females born Kodiak do not always take to being bonded and mated.”
It was Yutu’s turn to laugh. “That is true. Perhaps when your mate is through the change, your battles with her can provide the entertainment and supplant the stories of mine with Lena.”
