Switching Gears: Coyote Bluff Series Book 3

by Lea Barrymire

  At least he’d had a few days with her, finally was allowed to break through the walls she’d put up around her heart. Maybe Fate wasn’t punishing him at all, but ending something perfect before it broke the world. Only the gods experienced perfection, right?

  Zeke pulled up the memory of the first real kiss he’d shared with Amie, replayed the moment in slow motion, reveling again in the taste of her, the smell of her trust and excitement. Remembering the feel of her in his arms, his mate’s pliant body as she’d surrendered and pressed against him.

  Something rocked his body on the dirt but he no longer felt anything. The pain was gone, numbed by blood loss. A heavy blanket of nothingness covered his senses. Death stalked closer and Zeke wasn’t going to lose a single second of his time left worrying about his earthly body. Delving back into memories, he let the remembered scent of Amie’s arousal speak to him. Sweet and hot, she’d told him with her body how much she’d wanted him.

  Silently Zeke sent prayers to the heavens to watch over Amie. Another male was leaving her life in ruin and he hoped she’d be strong enough to survive it. At least she’d be safe within the pack. They’d watch over her. Skip would make her come out of her shell again, and she’d be set for life now. Months before he’d made her the beneficiary of his Will. It hadn’t mattered to him that she hadn’t given into the mating pull. In his heart she’d been the only woman for him.

  Darkness edged ever closer. He sleepily pulled up one more memory, knowing it would be the last he would reflect upon before he died. Amie lay sleeping in his arms, her head pillowed on his arm and her hands clasped together, tucked next to his chest. She’d looked so young and relaxed. He slowly lifted a hand to smooth it down her cheek and on a whisper she’d smiled and, still deep in sleep, mumbled, “I love you, Zeke.”

  With those words echoing in the depths of the black pit he gave in, forming his answer with numb lips. “I love you, too.”

  *****

  Amie entered the clearing at a full sprint, launching her furred body into the naked man who was repeatedly kicking a beaten Zeke. The smell of her mate’s blood had her seeing red; bloodlust thrummed through her compact cat body and drove her forward. Extending her claws a moment before impact gave her the satisfaction of digging them into the man’s chest and she clamped her canines around his throat. She dug deep enough to taste blood and feel his trachea bend beneath her fangs. Locking her jaws down around the asshole’s flesh was instinct, but the pleasure from feeling his labored breathing vibrate her canines was purely human. The two sides of her personality were in complete agreement. Death to anyone that touched Zeke.

  His scent wasn’t familiar nor had she seen his human face before. Close cropped brown hair and the typical muscular body put him in the running for average shifter of the year. The woman was definitely a typical alpha female. Anger radiated off of her in waves and a nearly imperceptible growl vibrated the air even with her in human form. She was a blonde beauty, or would be if her face hadn’t been contorted with rage. The third member of their group, another male, looked similar enough to the one she was gnawing on that they were perhaps brothers. He too fit the typical shifter profile. Tall, dark, built, and following the female’s orders with precision.

  Amie had formulated the plan on the way, as she tracked her mate by smell and sound. She’d probably die trying to save him, especially if they’d taken Zeke down. But she’d keep her mate safe, distract the attackers long enough for Skip to arrive. Even as she launched her body across the clearing she heard the tell tale sound of the Alpha’s truck on the gravel. He was close. She only needed to buy him and the rest of the pack a few minutes. Giving her life for Zeke was easy. It was the look of his defeated and ghostly white body laying on the dark earth that nearly made her falter, but nothing would stop her from trying to keep him out of harm’s way.

  Strong hands grabbed at her fur, yanking and pulling, trying to dislodge her from her victim but Amie knew better. She put more tension on his throat, trying to crush it enough that he’d die. The male wolf would pay for the pain and agony he’d inflicted on their mate. Digging long sharp back leg claws into the man’s abdomen gave her a moment of predatory victory. He screeched as hot blood ran over the pads of her toes. If she’d been bigger or stronger she could have disembowel him right there. Let his entrails fall to the dirt and watch as he died under her jaws. But she couldn’t hold onto his throat forever. Even as she clamped to reposition her teeth her jaw ached with the strain. Soon enough she’d have to release him and she’d likely be killed.

  “Get off him, you fucker.” A woman screamed before another set of hands grabbed hold of Amie’s body and tried to pry her off the wolf’s throat.

  “No. Fuck, she’s biting harder. Hit her with something. Punch her.” The male was nearly begging his friends. His voice raspy as he forced his voice through his bruised throat. He screeched again as she dug her claws deeper. “Hurry. Fuck. Get it off me.”

  Amie knew the blow was coming before it connected but she didn’t let go, instead she hoped it would tear her off the man with his throat still in her mouth. What she hadn’t expected was how much it would hurt. The woman struck fast, with a hard punch to Amie’s head, jerking her to the side. Her eyes closed momentarily to lessen the spinning. She growled deep in her chest and dug her back claws deeper into the man’s skin.

  Another strike slammed into Amie and this time it did dislodge her, sending her flying to the ground. She fell with a thud as the air rushed from her chest. Before the panic could even start a sharp kick sent her skidding across the forest floor. The telltale crack of ribs let her know that the pain would be coming. She braced for it, knowing her brain would take a moment to deal with the assault on her nervous system. And she wasn’t disappointed. A muted yowl broke her lips but it was cut short, ending in a whine as her lungs screamed in agony.

  At least she didn’t taste blood on her exhale. Probably hadn’t punctured a lung.

  Struggling to stand on shaky paws ended with another vicious kick to her side.

  “Fucking cunt. You’re gonna die for killing Mason.”

  The shriek was followed by another blow, this one to Amie’s head. She had a moment to acknowledge that she must have ripped out the wolf’s throat when she’d been dislodged from him. Mason lay in a widening pool of dark blood as it sluggishly left his body through a gaping throat wound and soaked into the hungry ground. That left only the woman and one more wolf for Skip to deal with. The cat and human smugly preened about the death of a larger predator under their jaws even as pain spiked in their chest. Pleasure and a predatory glee flooded the connection between the bobcat and human side.

  We did good.

  Peeling open an eye she looked over at Zeke and took in the fact that no one was harming him any longer, but terror flowed through her blood as she took in his coloring. He was so dangerously pale. If he was dead she prayed that she’d go too. Being left alone after accepting him would be Hell on Earth. She silently pleaded with the forces in charge to keep them together, even if that meant passing to whatever lay beyond life. They wouldn’t survive without him. Not now. Not ever.

  A yowl of pain and a plea to the heavens left her mouth. It cut off quickly as another kick stole her breath. The crack vibrating through her body told the tale of more broken bones. They wouldn’t last long if the beating continued. Forcing her eyes open again took more energy than it should, but focusing once again on Zeke helped calm her panic. Death wouldn’t keep them apart, not now.

  Darkness swallowed them both just as the sound of help arrived to the clearing made her try to smile. Nothing was as impressive as Skip in animal form when he was pissed the hell off and ready to kill for his pack.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “She’s waking. Finally.”

  The voice in Amie’s ears was too loud, too familiar and filled with concern. Wading from the cotton filling her brain was more difficult than it should have been. Pain throbbed as it knocked on the mental
door she hid behind. Like one of the little pigs she was using flimsy materials to keep the pulsing agony away. It was dulled some, but still filled her senses. Moving a thick and dry tongue inside her mouth gave Amie some idea of the damage. Old blood tasted bitter and metallic on her teeth. Grit ground roughly against the inside of her gums.

  Had she been in a car accident? That didn’t seem right. Her heart raced with memory even before her mind could catch the slippery images trying to come together. Something about Zeke and calling for help. With sudden clarity the memories erupted into her head, ghostly voices and the smell of phantom dirt filling her senses.

  “Zeke?” She croaked his name and her lips cracked around her scratchy voice. Licking the inside of her mouth again didn’t help pull moisture onto her tongue, but someone fed her a small piece of ice and the relief was wonderful. Cool water eased the feeling of chewing sand and it washed away some of the cobwebs, waking her mind further. Blessing or not, the last image of her mate’s broken body rushed to the forefront of her thoughts. Her bobcat, who’d been sluggish in the back of her brain yowled in pain and loss.

  A whine, animalistic and raw, ripped from her throat. Amie struggled to open her eyes at the same time as she tried to roll onto her side. Strong hands held her down and the voice of her Alpha drained any fight from her the instant Skip spoke.

  “Hush. Stop moving. He’s alive and as soon as we know your condition I’ll carry you to him myself.”

  Another ice chip slid between her lips and Margie’s scent tickled Amie’s nose. She’d have to remember to thank her friend for taking care of her. Having a family to care about her nearly drowned her in warm and fuzzy feelings. But the words repeating in her brain kept her focused.

  Zeke was alive.

  The relief was swift and her chest constricted around it, her heart thumping painfully for a moment in her chest. He was alive. Tears trickled down her cheek as a gasping sob shook her. Only Skip’s hand on her shoulder kept her from shattering like glass. Her stupidity and fears could have caused her to never know the feeling of belonging, of unconditional love, of knowing the feel of her mate sleeping next to her.

  “Calm. We’re waiting on the x-rays to determine if you’ve healed enough.”

  “Thank you.” She tried to push all of the feelings into those two simple words. She blinked a couple of times, adding more tears to the stream running down the side of her head. Amie slowly opened her eyes, allowing the muted light to filter through her eyelashes.

  Glancing around the room gave her brain the affirmation of location and who was in the room with her. Skip stood at her right shoulder, strong and unbending as a good Alpha should be. Margie and Connor were in the room too. Margie stood shoulder to shoulder with her mate, and both looked tired but grinned as they looked on. Amie smiled and flinched when pain spiked from her swollen face and cracked lips.

  So much could have changed. Curiosity had her kitty twitching her tail. “They die?”

  “Yeah. We killed the female and her brother is close to death, but alive enough to get information from. You tore out the other brother’s throat and he bled out in the woods. They were after Jason.”

  A memory of a conversation weeks before surfaced. And she tried to focus on Skip’s clenched jaw. “Are they the ones that chased him from his pack?”

  The nod had her brain trying to work through the information. Jason had been the leader, Alpha, of a small pack of wolves in the southern part of Virginia. He’d trusted the wrong woman and in turn had found himself run out of his pack, out of his territory and straight into a trap set by one of the youths in Coyote Bluff.

  “Why would they do that?” Amie didn’t mean to mutter the question, but she really couldn’t understand why a group who had just taken over another pack would come into a larger territory, knowing they’d be viewed as hostile invaders.

  “We don’t know.” Skip answered. “We will determine the risks to the pack.”

  Darkness slowly crept around her. Sleep beckoned with a promise of warmth and lack of pain. Stifling a yawn caused her jaw to crack.

  “Sleep, Ames. You’ll heal faster that way.” Margie’s voice was soft and laced with concern.

  Shaking her head wasn’t an option, so Amie did the next best thing. She snorted. “Someone promised to carry me to Zeke if I was okay enough to move. I’m not sleeping until I can see with my own eyes that he survived.”

  A chuckle from someplace in the room let her know Connor hadn’t let his mate too far from his sight. “Told you not to promise her that. Knew she’d want to see Zeke.”

  A throat clearing in the doorway brought everyone’s attention to the doctor. The small human man nodded at them all and strode purposefully into the room. From what Amie could remember he had been friends with some of the old timers and took the job as their doctor when Skip offered him the clinic.

  “What’s the verdict? Am I gonna live?”

  Doctor Erik Garrison scowled at the room in general. If he were a shifter everyone assumed he’d be a badger or some other ornery thing. “Live? Yes. You and your mate will live, but honestly if I have to deal with him one more time this month I’m charging him rent.” He turned to Skip and continued, “She is fine to be moved. Nothing is broken and with some sleep she’ll be on the mend quickly.”

  With that said the man didn’t even wait for a response. He turned on his heels and stomped back down the hallway. The sound of him muttering under his breath sent them all into giggles. Amie’s heart swelled with love for her pack, her family. “Thank you guys. It might be the pain talking, but I love you all so much.”

  An odd silence filled the room, even their breathing stopped for a moment. Panic flickered across her mind but the instant passed with a soft touch on her forehead. Skip stemmed any other thoughts about their weird reaction with the fatherly touch. Amie smiled up at him in thanks.

  “We love you too, hon.” Margie answered, “Now, Skip’s going to carry you to Zeke’s bed. No big movements. He’s recovering from broken bones, a punctured lung and severely bruised organs. If he’d been human he would have been dead twice over with the injuries he’d taken.”

  Biting her lip didn’t silence all of the sounds, but it did help some as pain shot through her body. Skip tried to keep from jostling her, but nothing could be done about the muscles pulling bruised tissues as they shifted. At least Skip was a muscular guy and didn’t need to readjust his hold once he’d stood up with Amie in his arms.

  “A couple more minutes, Ames. That’s all you have to wait. We kept you two pretty close in case we needed to do this.” Skip waited for Margie to open the door and gingerly walked into the hallway. The scent of Zeke and his blood washed over Amie. She was amazed the stench of pain wasn’t visible as a cloud of green smoke. It clung to her body in a film of slick sweat, filled her nose and lungs until she felt like she was drowning in it. It should be a haze marring the pristine creamy white of the hallway, shimmering in the air like a heat mirage. But even though it swamped her nose, her eyes only saw the calm clinic hallway.

  A whimper escaped her lips and her cat yowled pitifully in the back of her mind. “You’re sure he survived?”

  Her whispered question was met by the unmistakable sound of a heart monitor beeping its monotone answer. She counted the beats, measuring her own rapid heart rate to the slow, steady pace of his.

  Skip entered another room that had been very close to hers, as he said. He swung his body, and Amie, around until she caught a glimpse of Zeke lying, deathly white and still, in a hospital bed. Days before seeing him covered in a rash and in pain had been the worst visual in her life. This surpassed that by leaps and bounds.

  Tubes fed medicines into his veins, oxygen hissed through more plastic into his nostrils. Dried blood still clumped his hair together in disgusting spikes. His skin was so thin looking, with his veins showing in a distinct road map, winding along his arms as they lay perfectly still on the cream colored blanket. His hands and fingers showed t
he signs of the struggle he’d had. Dirt and vegetation clung to the skin, staining it. The smell of antiseptic and casting plaster couldn’t cover completely the stench of the wolves who’d attacked him. It added another layer of injury or injustice to the whole scene.

  “Please.” She whispered. Needing to be able to touch him, feel his heart really beating for herself. “Please Skip.”

  The Alpha didn’t even answer with words but took one more step and placed his knees against Zeke’s bed. He slowly lowered her onto the mattress so she could lie on her side next to Zeke. Once again she was glad the clinic had larger than normal beds. Too many times mated couples or siblings ended up crawling into bed together.

  The moment Amie reached a tentative hand to his, Zeke’s heart rate raised and his head turned toward her. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth evened out, smoothing, giving him the look of more peaceful sleep. His fingers twitched against her palm. Her pains dulled some as she studied him, taking in ever new breath as if it were hers.

  “Told you it’d be worth bringing her in here. Mates are amazing healers.” Connor muttered under his breath just before snagging Margie around the waist, pulling her against his chest and planting a smacking kiss on her neck. “If I’ve learned anything in the last few months is that the pull to your mate overrides everything. He should relax now and heal faster.”

  A soft snore had everyone in the room chuckling. Amie’s eyes slid closed and she faintly listened to everyone leave her and Zeke cuddled together. Sleep slid over her like a warm blanket and she cuddled in for some rest.

  “Amie wake up.”

  Whining and shaking her head didn’t make the annoying whisper go away.

  “Come on hon. Wake up.”

  “Don’t want to,” she groused.