by Abby Wood
***
The number of cats outnumbered the humans ten to four, and even with a man standing guard, they would be easy enough to take down. Granger sprinted over to Darren's group. If everyone played it safe, went for the kill, cleaned up the mess, and got out of there, all their troubles would be over for a time. At least long enough to bring his child into the world without any worries.
His child.
He still couldn't believe that Chloe carried their child. He'd worried himself sick over her being so ill and even convinced himself to take her into town to see a doctor. Lynx shifters shied away from that sort of thing. He didn't know how differently a shifter would react to certain drugs or what a doctor would see in lab results.
"Count down in sixty seconds. We all go in and take them by surprise. Don't shift. We need all your lynx strength if they get to their weapons first, understood?" He looked at Darren first and then turned to the other men. "Get ready. Let's end this now."
They moved with silent precision. Fast, accurate, and causing total chaos in the camp, Granger attacked with quick swipes of his claws. He struck the most vulnerable area of the human neck in front of him while the other lynx doubled up on the other men.
The men's winter clothes made it difficult to get to their bare skin, but the cats never gave up. Amidst the screaming, the cats remained strong and deadly.
Catching a movement from the corner of his eye, Granger left the man he attacked bleeding and unmoving on the ground. He sprang into the air, expecting to take down this hunter the same way as the other.
Sinking his back claws into the downy coat to get a good hold, he swiped with his right paw but never connected with his target. He screamed at the sharp pain that pierced his side. His head turned back to the others for help, but his body shut down.
He fell off the man's chest, landed on his back, and stared up helplessly at a pair of eyes so evil, he tried to call for help again. No one answered.
His body paralyzed, he struggled to breathe. The sensation of a weight pressing down on his him, holding him vulnerable, didn't sit well with him, and he strained to move. Nothing happened. Why couldn't his men hear him?
The man moved over him, a silver hypodermic needle in his hand.
Fuck!
If he reacted the same way Chloe had, he'd shift, and he'd never be able to fight back. His tongue hung out of his mouth. He could move only his eyes, but gazing at the others didn't catch their attention.
The man scooped him up and heaved him over his shoulder. Hung like a carcass over the hunter's back, he frantically called for Chloe.
"I'm sorry. So sorry. Take care of our baby."
Chapter Thirteen
"What?" Chloe sank against the wall of the cabin. "What do you mean, you don't know?"
Her legs gave out, and she slid down the wall, her feet bunching up underneath her bottom. "This can't be happening. No. No." She shook her head.
"Chloe, come sit on the couch." Gretchen helped lift her up. "Let's calm down. This isn't good for the baby."
"Granger..."
"I know, sweetie. Let's listen again and find out what happened." She pushed Chloe down onto the couch and sat beside her. "We won't know what to do until we hear what Darren has to say."
Chloe nodded and gazed up at Darren.
"I'm sorry—"
"Darren, tell me." She frowned. Where is he?"
"We don't know. The attack went exactly the way Granger orchestrated it." He ran his hands through his hair. "We outnumbered them. I saw him fighting beside me. And then…I don't know. We each finished our task, but Granger was gone."
"I don't understand."
"He wasn't there, Chloe." Darren sucked in a deep breath. "God."
She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "He can't just disappear. That's not possible."
"We talked." He shrugged. "Me and the other cats, I mean. We think that somehow we missed a man. He could have captured Granger and taken him while we were busy fighting." He turned his back to the couch. "I'm so fucking sorry."
"Stop! Just stop saying that. You act as if he's dead. He's not."
Chloe wound her arms around her waist and rocked back and forth on the couch. "Did you try to sniff him out?" She waited. "Darren! Did you try?"
He nodded.
She stood up and left the room. In the bedroom, she stripped off her clothes. The men couldn't find him, but she would. She wouldn't lose another person in her life.
Throwing open the bedroom door, she walked out in her lynx. Her head held high, she dared any of them to stop her. They couldn't.
Without their alpha male here, her orders became sacred, and it was time to put her alpha cat to the test.
"Chloe, no!" Darren shifted and stood in front of the door.
"You can't do this. Think of the child you carry. Granger would kill me if I let you out there." He rose up to his full height.
She snarled and batted her paw at him. "Granger's not here. I will find my mate." She stared Darren down. "Gretchen, open the door."
Her friend hesitated but ultimately did what her alpha requested. She walked out the door with Darren at her heels.
"I won't stop you from coming, but I will find him." She turned toward Granger's younger brother. "It would help if you tell me where to look. Show me. We both want him back. He's not dead. I'd know if something happened to him."
"Follow me."
Chloe ran without speaking. Her attention focused on possible ways to find her life mate. Deep down, she knew he lived. She'd begged and called for him, and although he never answered, she knew his spirit lived.
They passed the few trees that peppered the landscape and ran on barren tundra. The snow covered the earth with a clean, pristine blanket, disguising the devastation that took place there between the humans and lynx. Majestic and beautiful, it belied the harsh reality of surviving out in the extreme weather. Even the sun that shone down on her fur and warmed her back did not bring relief from the cold.
Darren looped to a stop and waited for her to catch up. "See where the mound of snow builds along the western side?"
She purred.
"The camp lay about a hundred and fifty feet to the east. We scattered the tents and supplies out in the bush. By the time winter is over, no one will ever connect the attack to this area." He ran to show her the exact spot.
She walked the entire area. Sniffing at the ground, the wind, a rumpled patch of snow, she searched for one hint that Granger's scent lingered and left a trail for her to follow.
Back and forth, she cut a path over the land. Afraid that she'd miss the minutest sign left behind, she retraced her steps with the hope that something would jump out at her. Nothing did.
Heartbroken, she sat back on her haunches. How did he disappear without leaving a part of him behind? He didn't spray or stamp the area the way the Lynx did when frightened. She shuddered and lowered her head. Granger never would have grown scared. He knew his position and excelled at his skills.
"Darren? I'm sorry too. I know he's your only family member left."
"No." He stepped up beside her and lay down. "We aren't alone. We have each other."
"Where are the vehicles?"
"We drove them back to Fairbanks." He sighed. "Don't worry, we searched them thoroughly."
A rabbit hopped into sight, froze, and stared over at the two cats lounging on the snowbank. Chloe lay her head down. Neither of them moved to give chase.
"I don't feel like leaving." She mewed and twitched her ears. "I know he's not here, but I feel him. I can't explain it."
"Maybe it's the babe. He—or she—connects you to your life mate."
She rose to all four legs, stretched, and took a few steps. "I suppose. Thank God the little one isn't making me sick right now."
"You're in your lynx. That probably helps." Darren walked with her back toward the cabins. "Although next week I doubt you'll be able to shift. The baby will grow very fast in a short time."
Sh
e snarled. "So I've heard."
They must have spent more time sitting around than Chloe realized. The sun headed down on the horizon, putting the time at early afternoon. It grew dark earlier and shortened the daytime hours.
From the corner of her eye she spied a movement that stopped her in her tracks. She studied the area to the left and behind her, but nothing caught her attention again. She sniffed the air, catching a scent that was neither animal nor human.
Purring under her breath, she jumped away from the tracks and stopped again. That's it! Why didn't she think of this before? Why didn't any of them? Granger was alive because they drugged him the same way that man had drugged her.
"Darren!" She ran to catch up.
He cocked his head.
"Where exactly did those men plan to take me in the car the day they caught me? Where do they live?"
He shook his head. "They wouldn't have kept you in their house. The risk that animal control would get wind of it and arrest them would be too great. Alaska state laws are strict on poaching." He purred. "They'd take you back to the lab in Juneau."
She laughed inside. This is what they'd all missed earlier. Relief bubbled inside her stomach and calmed her fears. "Want to take a car trip?"
"I've got a better idea. You wanna fly?"
Chapter Fourteen
Chloe laid her head back on the leather seat as the plane came to a stop. She inhaled through her nose and let the breath out slowly. It'd taken four days to set their plan into motion, and the time had finally come to bring Granger home.
"How are we doing on time?" Darren slipped off his seat belt and turned toward her.
"We've got a half hour. I've checked my watch every minute for the last hour." She smiled. "I can't believe how long it took to get here."
"Alaska's a big state, but not stopping in Anchorage helped. The airport there has too many regulations," Darren said. "They frown on people not actually having a license to fly the friendly skies. I'm just glad that you paid attention to your brother's lessons."
She reached over and squeezed his hand. "What if…?"
She couldn't finish the question. Her hope of finding Granger at the lab was the only thing that kept her going the last few days. She spent two days in Fairbanks visiting the Alaskan Fish and Game officials, contacting animal control, and setting the sting operation in motion.
She rubbed her belly. The baby's growth amazed her. I'm going to find your daddy, little one. Hang in there.
This morning her jeans couldn't be buttoned, and she had to borrow an old pair of Granger's. The pants gave her more room than she needed, but the swollen lump in her lower belly kept the waistband from sliding below her hips.
"Let's get out and wait across the street. There's a tourist shop that we can pretend to browse while we wait for animal control." Darren opened the door and jumped out onto the frozen lake. "Keep your hood up. We don't want the hunters to recognize you."
"I know." She pulled the fur-lined hood over her head and tightened the string. Her nose was still visible, but it hid her other features well. She reached out for Darren. "Let me hold on to your arm. I don't want to slip and fall."
The wind off the nearby ocean whipped at her parka. Hooking her arm through his, she plastered herself to his side for support. She kept her gaze on the ground and walked with him into town.
Of the many lakes in the area, Darren chose the one closest to the lab. It would make walking the few short blocks more comfortable given her pregnancy.
"Granger? Are you here?" She paused to wait for an answer, but no low, husky voice answered her. "Hang on, my mate. We're coming. Your family will find you."
Chloe stayed at the front of the store across the street from the lab, peering through the large glass window. Darren worked his way farther back, buying time for them to hang out unseen.
They had one chance to get inside the lab, and they'd do nothing to blow it. The Lynx had hoped for a solution like this to their problem for years. It would put an end to the hunters. At least until new ones popped up.
Her relationship with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game had come in handy. Reporting the illegal hunting and capture of her animals from the wildlife refuge bought her and Darren a way inside the lab to examine the animals and have the department shut down the operation.
She'd lied through her teeth, but it ultimately worked, and the hunters deserved every punishment they received.
How to get Granger out without anyone noticing was something she'd figure out after they learned his whereabouts.
She had a sneaking suspicion that they must have drugged him. No way would he not communicate with her. Bile rose in the back of her throat and left a burning sensation she tried to swallow away. She ignored the other possible reason for his not answering her.
"It should be any time now." Darren brushed the back of her coat and stepped around her. "I'm going to try one more time to get you to change your mind… Will you please stay here and let me check things out?"
"No."
He sighed. "Granger's going to kill me."
"Yeah, he probably will." She turned, smiled, and squeezed his arm. "And you'd let him too."
He chuckled. "Yeah."
She turned back to gaze out the window. A gasp broke through her lips, and she blindly reached for Darren. Backed by the sheriff's department, a squad of uniformed men moved in and surrounded the building. Hurry, hurry…
"Relax, sis." Darren's arm came around her back and supported her.
A grizzly bear couldn't have moved her from the spot where she stood. The moment it was safe to head across the street, she planned to fight her way into the lab to search for the beautiful lynx whose heart beat inside her body. She'd wandered lost the last four days without the man she loved.
"It's sure taking a long time. What if they don't find any animals?" She swallowed the lump in her throat. "What if the Lynx are wrong and this isn't where they hold suspected shifters?"
"We're not wrong."
She nodded, willing herself to have faith in the clan that had welcomed her with open arms. In the short time she'd lived with the Lynx clan, she learned to trust them with her life. With Granger's life.
The front door opened, but the man stepped back inside, letting it close again. Chloe stepped in front of Darren, but he pulled her back. Oh God, this is killing me.
Suddenly, a peaceful sensation flowed through her body. From the back of her head, over her shoulders, and around her middle, soothing warmth spread, taking the jitters out of her muscles. She pursed her lips and breathed out. She couldn't shift. The baby was too big to handle the smaller lynx body.
She snarled. Her lynx wanted out, and she was pissed off. The deep desire to lash out and harm the hunters, the scientists—the evil people who harmed all the Lynx in the past and now probably Granger—struck her hard. She needed to stop the senseless killing of the cats.
Breathing through the feelings, she kept her lynx under control. Thank God Granger taught her how to control her body.
"It's opening again."
This time Darren dropped his arm and took hold of her hand. "Stay with me."
Hurrying out of the store, Chloe kept in step with Darren's much longer stride. She kept her face pointed away from the handcuffed men coming out the door in the sheriff's custody and slipped inside.
"Hey! Stop right there! You must evacuate the building." An armed police officer held his hand up and stepped in front of them.
She raised her arms and lowered her hood. "I'm Chloe Barrant from the Northern Slope Wildlife Refuge. The animals these people stole were under my care. If I may check the animals, I can tell you if they are the ones that the state placed into my custody." She smiled and shook her head. "There are two that I'm especially worried about—a young black bear missing his left ear and a full-grown lynx. I'm not sure what shape the cat will be in, as he was deathly sick."
Darren stepped up. "It'll only take a moment, sir."
The man motioned for them to stay, removed the radio from his shoulder strap, and asked for clearance. The affirmative reply was quick, and the man stepped out of their way, signaling them to come forward.
"Go through the doors. The animals are caged, and until we assess what was going down here, please don't tamper with any of the evidence." The man walked them farther into the building and pointed them through to the other room. "Try to make it quick. This is going against protocol as it is."
Chloe hurried forward and through the back door. Two officers lifted their heads but returned to their clipboards, documenting the animals. Her gaze flew over the cages, and the ball of worry she'd swallowed the past few days came up and threatened to choke her. Where was he?
She walked along the aisle, turned, and searched the next aisle. Her heart breaking with each step, she came up empty. She was so sure he'd be there.
"There!" Darren pulled her along.
In the back row, Granger lay on the bottom of a cage in his lynx form, unmoving. She cried out and sank to her knees. Her fingers stretched past the metal squares of the enclosure barring her from her life mate. "Granger! Wake up, Granger. We found you."
"He's breathing, Chloe. He's alive." Darren fiddled with the lock while scanning the rest of the room. "There's a back door over there in the corner. It must lead to outside. The building isn't that big." He slipped off the lock and placed it on the floor. "Go distract the men over there, and I'll carry him out."
She rose to her feet. Darren reached out and grabbed her pant leg. She bent down, ready to do whatever he said to get Granger out.
"Make it good, Chloe. If we get caught…"
She nodded, turned, and acted as if she searched the cages for a certain animal. Her heart pounded so hard, the sound of rushing blood roared through her eardrums, blocking out any sound that might alert the men to Darren opening the cage.
"Oh God!" She held her stomach with one hand and covered her mouth.
The men whipped their heads toward her direction. She gagged and stumbled forward right into them.
"Are you okay, miss?" The older man grabbed her elbow. "Are you sick from the smell?"
