by Maia Starr
“Max—”
But I don’t get to finish. Maxen pounces, smacking me so hard on the head, I blackout.
I don’t even get to call for help.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Sven
Over these past few days, I’ve had so much time to think. Especially since Hayden, Reed, and I have been avoiding each other. I’ve felt off-kilter. I know Erika’s been feeling the same way.
So while I fly above the treetops of the Redwoods, stretching my wings and scanning the forest floor for any signs of Maxen, I start to think that my clan needs to make up sooner rather than later. At this rate, we’ll only just explode.
So, when I realize my time is up as a scout, I angle back towards the cottage. Whoever’s there, I’ll keep there while I wait for the last one to come back. We need to sit down and talk things through. I won’t let my family rip each other apart like this.
When I land out front, Reed opens the front door and walks out, a solemn look on his face. Shifting, I groan and stretch my muscles before walking up to meet him. “Hey, Reed.”
He nods at me, even smiles. “Sven.”
I nearly flinch at his response, since I wasn’t expecting him to say anything back. “Listen, Reed, I wanted to talk to you, Hayden, and Erika about all of this.”
He nods. “You mean about all three of us sharing her as our mate? Yeah, I was kind of thinking about having a talk like that soon too.”
“Good. Is Hayden home? If not, we could just go wait in Erika’s room, tell her what’s been on our minds in the meantime.”
Reed widens his eyes a little. “Oh, uh, Erika isn’t in the cottage right now.”
Stopping dead in my tracks, I glance at him. “What do you mean?”
“We went for a walk earlier. Down the dirt road. She asked for some space, and so I came back here.”
“Are you telling me you left her alone?” I ask, my brain working overtime to process that decision.
He nods. “Look, Erika knows what she’s doing. There’s been no sign of Maxen anywhere here. That dumb bear probably doesn’t even know we came out this way. Besides, she said she’d find one of you guys on the way back. It’s hard to miss her, after all.”
I can feel a vein popping in my head, and I grip the doorframe to keep myself steady. Telling myself she’ll be fine, I clear my throat. “So then...Hayden will find her. Because I certainly didn’t spy her below.”
Reed is matching my frown now and begins to pace the porch.
Then Hayden lands behind us, just where I had landed minutes earlier. He shifts and walks up to us, blinking at us both. “Why are you both here? One of you is supposed to be out scouting the area right now. Well, both of you, I’d say.”
Shaking my head, I step towards him. “You saw Erika, right? I mean, did you cross her path? She’s out on a walk.”
Hayden’s jaw drops. “What? No, I didn’t see her. Why is she out alone?” Hayden glances between the two of us. I can feel Reed clench his fists behind me.
“It doesn’t matter. We need to go find her. Right now,” I say. “She took a walk down the road, so I’m going to run that way to see if I can spot her. You two spread out and look for her.”
Reed and Hayden nod, both instantly rushing off in opposite directions. I run down the dirt road, stark naked, looking for any signs of her. I would shift if I could, but I wouldn’t be able to spy her tracks from so far up; plus, I wouldn’t be able to sniff out her scent. Spying both her and Reed’s shallow tracks in the dirt, I keep sprinting until I find Reed’s footsteps turning around, and Erika’s leading off the road and into the forest.
Stepping up the tiny slope and over a root, I see signs of what looks like a brief scuffle. Broken branches on the ground, leaves stamped, heavier footprints that are nothing like Erika’s. An orange scent, Erika’s, lingers in the area, and soon enough, I smell it mixed with the scent of a bear, leading off deeper into the forest.
Anger and fear swirl in my mind as I take off, wondering if Maxen got to her. What other bear shifter would be around here?
After a five-minute jog, I come into a small clearing where I see Maxen crouched over a bound and unconscious Erika. She’s pushed up against a tree trunk. Maxen is furiously working at tightening her rope when he looks up and growls at me.
“Damn, you lizards work quick,” he snarls.
Roaring out in rage, I charge him, shifting. Maxen is quick enough to shift and meet my charge, and we’re clashing in the middle of the clearing.
Maxen bites into my neck, causing me to cry out in pain, but I swipe at his side, forcing him to swing around. He lets go of my neck and rolls up to his feet while I land, standing in between Erika and him. Blood is oozing out of my neck. I’m trying hard not to let the pain get to me, but I’m already beginning to shake.
The bear begins to circle me, huffing and growling deeply. I grit my teeth and rear on my hind legs, mustering as loud as loud a voice as I can when I roar out. My voice shakes the earth itself, and I know Hayden and Reed will hear it.
If we’re going to beat Maxen, and save Erika, then we all need to fight.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Erika
I open my eyes again very slowly. The ground shakes as I bounce and roll, and when my head smacks against something pointed and hard, a sharp pain stirs me completely awake. Blood flows from the spot on my forehead, dripping into my eye, forcing me to close it.
I try to reach up and wipe the blood away, only to find my wrists bound in some thick rope. When I move my feet, I realize my ankles are bound too, and panic begins to slowly take over my mind as I roll and shake to the ground. I hear roars and deep growls and feel the heat of fire somewhere at my back.
Rolling over, I spy a fierce battle between a bear and a dragon. They dance around each other, jumping and swiping and rolling when they need to. Neither forces the fight over my way, though the dragon’s fire comes dangerously close.
I recognize the dragon as Sven. So, Sven found me first and is fighting while the others are still looking for me, or on their way.
I’m mesmerized by the fight as two beasts go wild, tearing into each other. When Sven dodges out of the way of Maxen’s charge, he swings with his tail, aiming to hit the bear directly in the stomach. But Maxen hits the ground and the dragon’s tail sails overhead, leaving Sven spinning and off-balance. Maxen takes that opportunity to pounce forward and chow down on Sven’s back leg. The dragon roars and then drags the bear around, attempting to flatten him by falling on him.
It dawns on me as I watch that I could be doing something too. Scooting myself farther back to the log, I angle my body so that I can rub the rope against the sharper pieces of bark. If I can run away, that’ll put extra pressure on Maxen to catch me. He’ll trip up, create opportunities for Sven to take him down, or at least hold him off while Hayden and Reed rush in.
I need to act, and quickly, and so I set myself to trying to cut my rope.
While I do, Maxen darts away into the forest, out of my sight, and Sven, in a rage, tries to follow the bear, squeezing between the trees and roaring like a maniac.
I stop to listen to the shouts and screams of the two beasts and then hurry with cutting my wrists free. Every movement back and forth mimics the rapid beating of my heart. Every second I waste could be the moment Sven is killed or the moment I’m scooped up and taken away for good.
Finally, I cut through, and my arms fly apart. I quickly reach down to undo the rope around my ankles.
Just as I do, Maxen is tossed back into the clearing. He lands and quickly scrambles to his feet, bloody claws marks all over his body. Sven forces himself back into the clearing too, even more wounds covering his body. The two look like they’ve been through hell.
Sven’s eyes meet mine, and he’s clearly taken aback by the fact I’m halfway free. Maxen notices too, and I’m the center of attention again.
My ex turns on a dime and shoots at me. Roaring out, Sven rushes forward to save me,
and he just makes it, sending a heavy claw into Maxen’s head and forcing him to veer off course. The two crash into trees on either side of me, dirt, grass, and leaves bursting into the air all around me. I don’t wait for Maxen or Sven to rise again, and the moment I get the rope undone, I’m on my feet, shaky, but running away from them. If I can find Hayden or Reed, I can direct them here so Sven won’t have to fight alone.
Maxen’s angry bellow causes me to stumble into a tree but I know I can’t afford to fall, so I force myself to stay on my feet and keep running. The ground rumbles as Maxen and Sven chase after me.
My adrenaline is pumping. My mind is racing like crazy. Every second counts, every step I take bringing me closer to true freedom.
In the distance, I hear Hayden and Reed respond to Sven’s call from earlier, roaring out, and I smile, absently reaching out my hand for them.
But then the bear slides into view on my right, stopping in front of me, and opens his jaws. His teeth press tight against me as he scoops me up. My feet and arms are dangling as his hot breath washes over my body. I scream and fight, but Maxen doesn’t seem fazed.
Then we’re whirling around and darting off into the forest. Sven tries to follow, but he collapses, his blood pooling on the ground.
“Sven!” I scream, my hand still outstretched.
But he barely lifts his head.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Hayden
I hear Sven’s call.
It’s faint from where I am, yet the call makes me stop dead and just listen. More than likely he’s calling because he found Erika or Maxen. Or maybe both. And now he’s either being overwhelmed or having difficulty fighting because Erika is near.
Snarling to myself, all I can think about is how my mate and best friend are in danger, and so, without a second thought, I shift into my dragon form and lift off from the ground, soaring above the Redwoods so I can hopefully get a bird’s eye view of everything that’s going on in the forests. Because I was going at full speed, rushing around the forest, I’m probably farther away from where Sven is fighting than I’d like to be.
So it’s hard to locate exactly where his roars came from.
Either way I’m too hyped up on adrenaline to slow down, so I just fly in the direction I think is the closest. When I spy a dark scaled dragon flying somewhere off to my right, I flag it down with a curt cry.
Reed and I land on the forest floor seconds later, and we both shift. He comes up to me, arms wide open, an expression of extreme worry on his face. “That was Sven’s call, right? He must have found Erika. Do you know which way his call came from?”
I hesitantly nod. “I can’t be sure, but I think it’s somewhere in this direction.” Lifting my hand, I point off diagonally to my left. “Please tell me you heard it from over there too.”
Reed nods and grins. “Yeah. That means Maxen is over there too. Sven is fighting him one on one, and we both know that means Maxen will get the upper hand eventually, especially in this tight forest.”
“Then we need to hurry. If either of us spy Sven, Maxen, or Erika, we’ll make a similar call, okay?” With a single nod, I punch him in the shoulder. “Good, then let’s hurry.”
So we shift again, rising quickly into the sky, barely able to think of anything other than saving those two. We’ve all made mistakes here, and we’ve all pushed Erika to the brink of frustration by not ending this sooner. But now we have a chance, a chance that Sven is creating for us by being the first to find them. I gotta remember to treat him to his favorite restaurant later.
Soaring in the direction of Sven’s call, Reed and I fly side by side, doing our best to scan the forest below. We hear the sounds of battle, of deep, bear-like grumbling, and see fire in the distance. My gut is twisting at the idea that Sven might actually take Maxen down before us. He might be the sole hero.
But then we nearly zoom over the battle site, and I figure out quickly that Sven won’t be the sole hero anytime soon.
Shifting, I spy Sven’s crumpled body near the edge of the clearing on his stomach, his arms outstretched further into the forest.
“Sven!” Reed and I both scream as we sprint over. I come to a sliding stop on my knees as Reed takes a defensive position in case Maxen comes out to attack. I wouldn’t put it past him to wound Sven and leave him here to lure us into a trap.
Sliding my hands underneath him, I gently roll him over so that his face isn’t pressed into the earth, allowing him to breathe. Sven sucks in air, dirt and mud caking his body, claw wounds all over his body, bleeding wildly. “Shit!” I swear as I press two hands to a wound the size of my palm on his neck. “Sven, can you hear me? How are you feeling?”
Sven chuckles. “You...can probably guess...how I’m feeling.”
“Was it Maxen?” Reed says, a flair of anger to his voice. I look up to see Reed trembling, his fists clenched. “Where is that prick?”
“We need to patch you up, buddy,” I say, my brows creasing, my rage flowing wildly deep inside.
Sven pants, his body covered in sweat, but shakes his head. “No, no...he has Erika. Go after her...first. Patch me up...after.”
Reed kneels. “Which way? Deeper into the forest?”
“Wherever my fists were...pointing when you landed.”
Reed and I exchange a knowing glance.
But now we have an even tighter time limit. We need to not only save Erika, but get back in time to save Sven.
“We’ll find Erika, Sven,” I say, clutching his hand and grinning down at him. “We won’t screw up this chance. I promise.” Nodding at Reed, I rise to my feet. “And don’t worry; we won’t forget you back here. So just rest while we take Maxen down. Then we’ll come back and patch you up. We’ll treat you to dinner afterward too.”
Sven smiles. “Save our mate.”
Reed and I stiffen at his use of “our.” But we grin, nonetheless.
“Just take it easy, big guy,” Reed says as I jog past him. “We’ll be right back.”
And then Reed turns to follow me as we run into the forest. On foot, Maxen will never see us coming.
Erika will be back in my arms within minutes.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Erika
I have no idea how long Maxen has been running with me in his jaws. Every step he takes throws me around like a ragdoll, and my brain is taking a real beating. My head now pounds like crazy. It hurts so bad. I can barely tell which way is up. On top of that, every once in a while, Maxen’s teeth bite into my sides, arms, and legs. His slimy tongue is pressed against my back to keep me in place. It truly feels like I’m being carried away by a horrific monster aiming to roast me in a stew for dinner.
Even if I’m disoriented by the constant jerking and the sheer speed at which my ex is running, I still find ways to fight back as best I can. I poke at his eyes, punch his nose, try to kick his chin when he swings me wildly. I scream constantly. It bothers him, but he doesn’t stop.
At least, not until I wiggle my free arm into his mouth and start scratching his tongue and gums. It feels disgusting, and his horrid breath makes it hard to breathe, but if this will get him to come to a stop, then I’ll do it.
And it works. Maxen growls and slides to a stop, dropping me on an arched redwood root. I cry out at the hard hit to my spine but seeing Maxen shake his bear head to get rid of the pain I inflicted, I know this is another chance to escape.
I climb to my feet, one hand absently held over my stomach, and rush away.
I haven’t gotten any hard hits to my abdomen yet, keeping my baby safe, but it’s a matter of time. Maxen doesn’t know I’m pregnant, and I want to keep it that way.
Looking over my shoulder, I see Maxen shift back to his human form. He’s still gripping his tongue, trying his best to soothe the pain, and then he glares me at. “Don’t you dare run from me again!” he shouts as he comes after me.
I start to climb a steep slope when he rushes up behind me and grabs my arm and hair. With his meaty finge
rs, he yanks me back, nearly tearing my hair from my scalp. I yelp at the pain and try to punch him with my free fist. He takes the attacks bravely, though, and then wrangles me to the ground where he straddles me and screams incoherently in my face. Spittle lands on my cheeks and I shut my eyes, flailing my arms wildly to get him off me.
“Stop it!” he shouts. “Stop! It!”
Slapping me hard across the face, I stop. Not because I want to obey but because the force of his hand shocks me to stillness. Glaring up at him, I spit in his face.
“You’ll regret that,” he mutters, staring down at me. “You’ll regret all of this. Why can’t you just realize that you can’t win? You’re never going to leave me. You’re mine forever. Deal with it.”
“I am not yours. I’m not just going to deal with it,” I growl back. “Why can’t you just stop this? Why do you have to be abusive?”
“This is love, Erika,” he says, his face angry and twisted. “I can’t ever abandon the people I love.”
Just then, I peer over his shoulder and see two men emerge from behind a tree. My eyes widen as Hayden and Reed charge forward as silently as they can, running to either side to create a pincer attack. Maxen notices my attention is elsewhere and turns in time to see Reed rush towards him. “Ah! The lizards are back!”
He rises to meet Reed’s charge, not noticing Hayden. Hayden slams into Maxen, taking them both to the ground. Reed similarly jumps in, trying to pin the bear shifter down. But before I can even rise to my feet, Maxen is howling loud enough and flailing madly enough to chuck them both off of him. They land by me as they leap back up to their feet, each stepping in front of me as Maxen shifts into his bear form.
“Get back, Erika; we’re taking this jackass down,” Reed growls.
