by D. K. Davis
“Well, that sucked.” Morgan pushed herself up as if nothing had happened. She pulled her tattered T-shirt together and tied it across her chest, leaving her midriff exposed.
Addison broke down laughing her butt off. “I cannot believe you speared yourself on that tree.” She cackled so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I find nothing funny about this.” I shook my head, frustrated with both of them and with myself at so desperately wanting Morgan. She’s like a drug to me.
“So, why didn’t I know that tree was in front of me?” Morgan glanced at Addison and giggled too, not as hardy as Addison, but enough that my fingers curled into my palms forcing me to deal and keep my lure to her in check. “Because I was facing Addison instead of the tree?” Morgan added.
“Partly, but you have instinctual and intuitive senses to count on as part of your guidance system,” I responded, doing my best to keep my seemingly unstable emotions out of my voice. Dad’s words resonated in my mind about keeping Morgan safe. How can I if she pulls stunts like this?
Her mouth dropped open, and she got quiet, and then she said, “I knew it was there.”
“What?” Addison and I responded at the same time.
“A prickly sensation coated my skin like teeny hot coals right before I hit that tree.” She eyed Addison and then me. “So, that’s my tell there’s a danger in front of me. Who knew?”
“Well, you didn’t know.” Addison broke into another fit of chortles.
I let out a frustrated breath and strode away from them. “I’ll meet you back at Becka and Charlie’s,” I flung over my shoulder.
Morgan raced ahead of me, and then Addison passed by, and I couldn’t stop the smile spreading my lips.
* * *
Morgan
Uncle Charlie stood on the path between barns. He waved Addison and me over. He frowned at me. “What happened to your T-shirt? Is that blood?”
My face overheated and I stumbled on how to explain my being stupid enough to run into a tree.
“She got stabbed by a tree branch but healed just perfect. Well, other than her T-shirt suffered the consequences.” Addison giggled, and I thought she might lose it again in a fit of uncontrolled laughter. She didn’t.
“Yep, I’m fine. More embarrassed than anything else.” I gave him a weak smile.
Uncle Charlie shook his head and rolled his eyes. Something I’d never seen him do before. “Do you gals know where Rowan is? I want some help refilling the deer feeders in the meadow.”
Rowan jogged toward us from between the barns.
Charlie smiled. “Just in time. I need to fill the deer feeders in the meadow and could use some help. I’m going to check in with Becka first. Would you bring the ATV around to the back of the house? I’ll meet you there.”
“Let’s help.” Addison elbowed me.
Uncle Charlie had already walked away, and Rowan stood next to Big Red’s door. He turned toward us, and I knew he’d heard what Addison said.
“I’ll use the four-seater.” He grinned and hurried into the barn. When he drove out, he sat in the four-seat gator. He’d already dropped eight giant bags of deer feed into the backend. He stopped beside Addison and me. “All aboard the deer-feedin’ train.”
We climbed in and sat in the backseats. “Today is an amazing day,” I said, feeling the need to say it out loud.
Rowan and Addison eyed me. Both wore frowns.
“I mean, honestly, I just rose from the dead. Don’t you think that’s worthy of an amazing-day statement?”
Addison rolled her eyes. Rowan’s mouth dropped open, shaking his head. Uncle Charlie walked out the backdoor and rushed down the steps, climbing into the front seat.
“Well, I see this job won’t take long with all these helping hands.” Uncle Charlie chuckled and sat back. “Onward.” He waved his fingers toward the meadow.
Rowan and Uncle Charlie conversed about some upcoming repairs in the barns and to the security fencing around the perimeter.
Addison grabbed my hand and squeezed, and then whispered, “You scared the ever-lovin’ life out of me with that show-stopper. Your lessons of survival might be more comfortable on the rest of us if you didn’t throw personal experience at us first thing.” She squeezed my hand again, and then released it. She blinked, and her eyes widened at me.
I nodded. “Okay, I’ll try to refrain from having fun.”
“You know that’s not what I mean. Wait until you learn your strengths and weaknesses before throwing caution to the wind.” Addison leaned back, face forward as if that ended the subject.
“You may be done discussing this right now, but we’re going to continue it later. Just a heads up.” I huffed and stared out my side of the ATV. I got the fact that I didn’t know squat about cougarhood, but I didn’t need put-down by someone two years younger than me either. No one here had grown up in my shoes. They didn’t know anything about me, nor did my aunt and uncle.
Uncle Charlie got the ball rolling when we got to the feeders. He directed each of us, setting up an assembly line with Addison lifting the feed bag from inside the backend of the ATV and handing it to me. I opened the bag and gave it to Rowan. He climbed the ladder attached to the feeder and Uncle Charlie dumped the feed in from the top.
All three of them got filled in no time, and we headed back to feed the fawns. When we finished, my stomach growled.
“What time is it?”
“Five-thirty,” Uncle Charlie said. “I believe Becka’s got dinner ready. She told me that Rowan would need to eat and run.”
“What’s up?” Addison tilted her head, studying Rowan.
“Patrol for the Forest Guardians.” Rowan grabbed my hand.
A sizzling pulse skipped up my arm. My heart beat stammered. “Do I get to patrol tonight too?”
He sighed. “No. We need to keep you under wraps, most especially after the crazy stunt you pulled earlier today.”
“Good luck with that,” Addison said under her breath, but I’d heard her, and with Rowan’s raised brow, he had too.
Chapter Eighteen
Rowan
Becka’s pot roast and all the fixins’ tasted legendary, but I’d downed it so fast I missed most of the flavor. I had to talk with Oakly before my patrol shift started, so ate and ran, literally.
Becka and Charlie kept Morgan at their place until Becka could leave for the night. Addison stayed to eat and help with the evening chores. Morgan was surrounded by people who could protect her, but I would feel more comfortable if her protection came from me.
I ran up the porch steps and into our fortress house. “Oakly, you here?” I strode through the great room to the kitchen. There lay an open box of filled syringes. Hmmm. The dogs barked in the backyard, so I headed outside.
Oakly threw a tennis ball, and Lancaster fetched it, although all the males and both females ran after it. He turned when the dogs ran past him to me. “Where’s Morgan?”
“Left her with Becka, Charlie, and Addison. They wanted to finish the chores before coming here.” I kneeled and patted Lancaster’s head, so he dropped the tennis ball at my feet. “What’s in the syringes on the table?”
“Dad wants us always to carry one. It’s the antidote for the poison.” Oakly sauntered over. “He wasn’t sure if we’d be immune to the poison, even though we ingested Morgan’s blood. According to Leo, we should be.” He tilted his head. “Maybe Leo should test our blood to make sure.” Then he added, “We’d also have the antidote with us in case someone else needed it.”
I nodded, glad to know Leo provided enough to share. “I’ll take an extra one tonight to hand off to the Forest Guardian I’m relieving.” Lancaster bumped my hand with his nose. The other dogs circled my brother and me as if we were their herd.
“You don’t have to. I already gave Jobey one. He’s who relieved me, but you will need one for Max, the shifter replacing you at midnight.” Oakly bent down to Lancaster’s level. “What’s this?” He pointed at t
he yellow ball still laying at my feet. “I’m the one playing catch with you.” He shook his head, grabbed the ball, and stood.
I got to my feet too. “Dad wants us to protect Morgan. He’s not so sure it’s safe right now in the forest. She’ll need to stay inside.”
“Dad already went over it with me. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she’s safe. I owe her my life for God’s sake.” He blasted the ball across the yard. It slammed against the farthest corner of the fence. All the dogs took off after it.
I patted my brother on the shoulder. “I know you got this.” I’d doubted Oakly’s behavior for weeks, but the sudden change in him from surviving the poison gave me hope that he’d snapped out of his funk. I sensed no vibes of anxiety or desperation from him. “I’m a few minutes late so gotta roll. Call me if anything comes up.”
“Same to you. Call me if anything looks suspicious.”
I ran straight to the check point. Jobey leaned against a tree, cell phone in hand, and glanced at me when I stopped in front of him.
“Hey, great stealth, like a ninja cat.” He grinned. “I was texting you to make sure I didn’t screw up the meet time. You’re late, right?” He slid the cell phone into his jeans back pocket.
“Yep, a few minutes behind schedule today. Thanks for staying until I got here.”
“That’s what we do for each other. It’s a given.” He bumped my upper arm with his fist in a friendly gesture. “See you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” I responded, and then took off on my jog half-way around the perimeter, about fifteen or so miles. I would cross back and forth like spokes on a wheel until I completed a full circle of our lands, plenty of time to think about Morgan, our relationship, her father, their non-existent relationship, and her shifter training.
* * *
Morgan
Aunt Becka, Addison, Uncle Charlie and I sat on the front porch enjoying a hot chocolate before we made the trip to Rowan’s for the night. Addison considered spending the night at the Marcus Fortress, but her mother had called and wanted her to come home for the night.
“You hear that?” Addison glanced toward the driveway, a moment later a billow of dust followed Sh-a’s old brown truck. “Is that Sh’a?”
His truck flew up the drive to the porch. “I’ve got an injured doe in the back,” he shouted from the opened window. He swung the truck around, and for some reason, I was the first to respond. The others followed on my heels. I sprinted to the bed of the truck. The deer looked a bloody mess, and she had a clipped left ear. Zoe.
“Charlie, it’s Zoe.” Aunt Becka climbed up beside her. “Looks like she just birthed her fawn. There’s some placenta still attached.”
Both my aunt and uncle examined her. “Looks like she got hit by a vehicle. Addison, you and Morgan get the trailer. We need to get her inside the little barn for the night. Use the ATV to bring it around.”
Addison and I ran to Big Red. I rolled the trailer around while Addison backed up the ATV to load it onto the hitch. It only took minutes, and we were back in the front yard.
Aunt Becka crouched beside Zoe, murmuring to the doe as my aunt gently rubbed the deer’s face and neck. Zoe’s eyes hadn’t opened. She breathed from her mouth with her tongue hanging out. Moisture glazed my aunt’s eyes and clung to her lashes.
Uncle Charlie and Sh-a slid Zoe from the truck into the trailer.
Aunt Becka jumped inside the trailer, laying her hands along Zoe’s upper body as if searching for a sign of life. My aunt gasped, and a meek sob escaped. “She’s already gone.” Blood dripped from Zoe’s mouth. Aunt Becka bent over, her long braid sliding over her shoulder as she hugged the doe. After a few minutes, she climbed out of the trailer. “Charlie, her baby is out there somewhere. We have to find Zoe’s fawn.” My strong Aunt Becka looked so frail at that moment.
Tears spilled down my face as I walked over and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around me and cried on my shoulder. I cried on hers.
“Don’t worry.” Uncle Charlie squeezed both of us. “I’ll find Zoe’s fawn.”
I glanced up from my aunt’s shoulder. “I’m going with you.”
“So am I.” Addison pulled her phone out. “Maybe Mom will join us in the baby hunt.”
“Morgan, you need to be at Rowan and Oakly’s before dark. I’ll be a little late getting there tonight.” Aunt Becka’s voice shook. She turned away for a moment and wiped her face with the palms of her hands, and then in a stronger tone said, “Make sure you keep visual contact with each other at all times in the forest.”
Uncle Charlie was asking Sh-a about where he’d found Zoe. Aunt Becka walked over to the men.
Addison and I covered Zoe’s body with a tarp and rolled the trailer into the goat barn until Uncle Charlie could bury her.
Soon after Sh-a left, we loaded into Uncle Charlie’s metallic blue Chevy extended cab truck.
Addison sat in the back seat, leaning forward over the console between the front seats. “Mom can’t come, but she said I could help search and rescue.”
“Sh-a found Zoe about two miles down the road from our house. Not sure why she would have been by the road unless something spooked her.” Uncle Charlie pulled off the road and parked. “And the only thing that would spook a mother away from her new born would be a threat. She’d lead danger away from the fawn.”
Addison and I looked at each other and then back at my uncle.
“So, Aunt Becka said fawn lay flat on the ground and don’t have a scent for the first seventy-two hours. How will we find it?” I raised my head and opened my mouth for all senses to engage. “We follow Zoe’s scent,” I answered my own question.
Addison clapped her hands. “And look at you not only smelling but tasting the air.”
“I’m following you and Addison.” Uncle Charlie grabbed a blanket from the back of the truck. “I depend on both of your expertise.”
Addison and I took off through the trees and shrubs together, and my uncle followed close behind.
“There’s not too much undergrowth, yet. It’s still spring-like weather here.” Addison focused more on the ground.
“I’m on Zoe’s scent trail and sensing her fear, but I’m not picking up anything chasing her. Do you?” I glanced at Addison.
“How did you sense the fear?” She stopped and held her hand up, tilting her head and sniffing.
“The same kind of hot coal prickles that passed over my skin when I ran into the tree just skipped across my tongue, alongside my picking up Zoe’s scent. I’m assuming that means the doe felt danger.”
Addison nodded as she studied the ground. She called me over. Uncle Charlie followed.
Boot prints?
“It isn’t hunting season,” my uncle stated before I asked the question.
“Those prints look pretty fresh, but why would a guy run after a deer? I mean, it’s not like he could keep up. Is it only one set?” I followed Addison’s lead as she guided us along another ten minutes.
“Oh my gosh. Come here.” Addison pointed at the ground. A bloody arrow lay next to a tree.
“I didn’t see the arrow wound, but that makes sense. Zoe had a lot of internal bleeding and then getting hit by a vehicle.” My uncle dropped his gaze toward the ground and shook his head. “Damn poachers.”
“Do you think the police might be able to get a fingerprint from that arrow?” I didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, I tore off a piece of my already tattered T-shirt from running into the tree earlier and carefully wrapped the arrow.
“That’s a good idea, but I don’t know if the local authorities would have fingerprint records of poachers. But it’s worth a try.” Uncle Charlie took the arrow from me. “I’ll carry it. We need to keep going to find the fawn. It’s going to be dark soon.”
I stilled, sensing Rowan near. “I think we might have some extra help.”
He broke through some trees ahead of us and rushed over. “What are you doing here?” His sharp tone and stern look of concern surprised me.
“You know it’s unsafe.”
Uncle Charlie spoke up, “The girls volunteered to help find Zoe’s fawn. Sh-a just brought Zoe to the house. She got hit by a vehicle and didn’t make it. We’ve since surmised she also got shot with an arrow.” He showed Rowan the wrapped shaft. “We still have poachers in the area.”
Rowan’s lips pinched together. “I’m going to call a couple more Forest Guardians in and see if the poacher is still in the area. I’ll be just a minute.” He walked a little distance away to call. It sounded like he spoke with Oakly, asking him to find a couple of guys. When Rowan strode back to us, he said, “I was looking for a doe, wondering what spooked her away from the newborns. I know where the fawns are, not far from here.”
“More than one?” Uncle Charlie’s eyes widened.
“Twins, and probably a good thing, they’ll have each other now that mama is gone. Sorry to hear about Zoe, Charlie. How’s Becka taking it?” Rowan relaxed. The tension of finding us in the forest seemed to dissipate once Charlie explained why we’d come there.
“Losing Zoe hit her hard but having the fawns under her care will help. Lead the way.” Uncle Charlie waved an arm toward the trees where Rowan had first appeared.
Rowan grabbed my hand, and our connection sparked to life. “Come on, you. Let’s get this rescue mission underway.”
Fifteen minutes later, Rowan put a forefinger to his lips. He slowly stepped toward a teeny lump on the ground, camouflaged by leaves. Uncle Charlie lay the blanket on the ground near them. Their spindly legs folded tight beneath their little bodies, and they’d snuggled close together, making them appear as one.
Rowan and Uncle Charlie lifted them together and set them on the blanket. My uncle quickly covered them.
“I’ll carry them to your truck.” Rowan lifted them with gentleness.
His careful attentiveness to the fawns spun warmness around my heart. Right then his cell vibrated, easy for me to hear.
