Clever. This female was smart.
“Credentials?” the young male said, frowning heavily.
“Yes, if—”
"We don't need to show you shit," he continued, his heart rate quickening. His fists clenching. This was spiraling out of control.
“Actually—”
“Actually nothing,” the younger male snarled, pointing a finger in the female’s face.
“Now, now,” the thickset male said in a soothing voice. “Let’s all calm down. There are dangers in these parts. Terrifying creatures that could cause you ladies untold harm. We can’t leave you here unprotected.”
“Terrifying creatures?” Haley laughed, sounding tense. “I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “Wild animals are more afraid of us. We don’t plan on sleeping out here. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.” The youngest, Kelly, stepped forward. She was very small, even for a human. “Thank you for your concern, but—”
“Let’s not let things get nasty ladies. They can get nasty and fast. We aren’t going to leave you stranded out here.” He spoke carefully and calmly.
Flood could hear the female’s heart racing. Kelly was afraid. They all were. Justifiably so.
“We’re not stranded!” Sydney yelled, putting her hands on her hips.
“From where I’m standing,” the older male rubbed his chin again, “you look stranded to me. My mama taught me to look after womenfolk and I’m going to do just that, whether you ladies like it or not.”
“I’m thinking maybe your version of looking after us and our version are two different things!” Sydney half-yelled.
The male ground his teeth. Even from where he was, Flood caught the acrid scent of his anger.
“Calm down.” Paige put a hand out and touched her friend. “Shouting at each other isn’t going to help things. Please, let’s discuss this calmly.”
Flood pushed out a breath as he watched the male visibly relax. “You are right about staying calm.” He nodded once. “I’m afraid though, our stance on this hasn’t changed. It’s not up for discussion. Let’s go.” He pointed to the helicopter. It was an old military chopper and packing some serious firepower. All silver-infused, like the bird that had gone into their territory almost four months earlier. Flood couldn’t let the females get into the chopper. He wouldn’t be able to help them once they became airborne. Following them without being seen would not be possible either.
"We told you, we're not going!" Sydney cocked her head, her voice was hard. "My husband will be here soon."
“This is your last chance,” the thickset male growled between clenched teeth.
“Or what? Are you going to kidnap us? Tie us up and cart us away kicking and screaming, because that’s the only way any of us are getting into that helicopter with you.” Haley folded her arms.
“If we have to.” The whelp smiled broadly, looking like he was enjoying himself. Looking like he’d like nothing better than to tie them up. Sick bastard!
Flood was quickly running out of options. At almost two hundred feet away, there was no sneaking up on them. No taking out the males quickly and quietly without putting the females in even more danger. Right then, they were at a stand-off, one that wasn’t going to last long. He could guess where this was going.
Flood looked down at himself and huffed out a heavy breath. There was no way he was passing as human. Certainly not while wearing just a pair of cotton pants. No shirt, not even shoes. He was bigger than most shifters, which made him enormous compared to a human. His entire chest was covered by a silver marking, much like a human tattoo, only it wasn’t one. It glinted like metal in the sun. He ran a hand over his short hair, cropped close to his scalp. He wished for once he’d chosen to style it like some of the others. Maybe then he wouldn’t look like he did. Hardcore and mean, with eyes like the darkest night. So black it was almost impossible to tell his iris from his pupil. Humans were scared of him. The moment he stepped out from behind that boulder, they would know who and what he was. The moment he showed himself, he would be a sitting duck. His only hope was to delay them long enough for back-up to arrive.
His other option was to sit back and watch these males take the humans by force. Sydney yelped when the human whelp grabbed her by the arm and pulled. “Let go!” She added, more forcefully. “No!” She sounded terrified. It hit him straight in the gut.
No! There was no way he could stand by and watch this happen. These hunters were bad news. He sucked in a deep breath and stepped out from behind the boulder. The hairless male had grabbed another female by the arm and was trying to pull her towards the chopper. The third male was just unclipping his weapon when he spotted Flood. He nudged the bald one, having to do so twice before he let up on the female and locked eyes with Flood. “Well, I’ll be…” He smiled like the cat who had just got the cream.
The youngster kept dragging the female; it took several long seconds before he realized something was up. He first turned towards the others before looking Flood’s way as well. His jaw dropped open and he released the female. They all turned to stare at him, eyes wide.
The whelp smiled. “That’s one of them. It is, isn’t it?” He sounded excited.
The bald male made a shushing noise, designed to tell the others to keep quiet. It worked.
The thickset male pulled his weapon. Fuck! The coward grabbed the nearest female and yanked her against him, holding the gun to her side. Flood might not know much about guns but he knew a shot from that close range would most likely end her life. He also surmised that the silver bullets inside that chamber might just have the same effect on him.
“That’s far enough,” the male warned as Flood drew closer to where they were standing.
Chapter 2
Paige watched in horror as the one who said his name was John grabbed Sydney and stuck the muzzle of a gun into her side. The two of them hadn’t gotten along very well in their short time together, but the other woman didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Nobody did. Paige wished, for about the tenth time, that they had listened when she and Kelly had voiced their bad feeling about this whole thing. It was too late now though.
The other two men drew their weapons as well, aiming them at the guy who was approaching. Making his way to them using purposeful strides. Kelly, eyes trained on the weapons, whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. Paige reached out to the other woman, moving in closer and squeezing her arm. All the while, her eyes stayed on the gun against Sydney’s side. Hayley drew nearer to them as well. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing heavily. They were all in shock. Fear of death would do that to a person.
The only hope they had was an unarmed man. Not a man, a shifter. She transferred her attention back to him. One of the biggest, scariest shifters she had ever seen…and she’d seen a fair number in the last twenty-four hours since arriving there. His muscles had muscles. They were corded and thick. His legs were like tree trunks and his arms almost as big. His chest was the embodiment of the phrase ‘barrel-chested’. His silver tattoo glinted in the afternoon sun. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw tight. His neck muscles were roped and his biceps bulged as he fisted his hands.
“What do we have here?” Tim said. He whistled low, that same irritating smile plastered on his face. It was mean, she realized suddenly. This was the kind of person who enjoyed hurting animals. He would have been a bully in school. The type to hit his girlfriend or swear at his mother. A shiver ran through her and Kelly whimpered, silent tears poured down the younger woman’s face.
John smiled. His was…calculating. “Finally. We’ve been looking long and hard for you.”
“Me?” His voice was the deepest she had ever heard. “Doubtful.” One almost indiscernible shake of the head.
“Not you exactly, but one of your kind.”
The shifter’s jaw tightened further. His dark eyes gave nothing away. “Let the females go and we can talk.”
“You
Kelly’s sobs grew louder, her shoulders shook. Paige rubbed a hand against her back, trying to keep her calm. At the same time, she geared up to push Kelly on the ground if all hell broke loose.
“There are more of my kind right behind me.” The shifter spoke in a calm, easy fashion. “You won’t get away. I suggest you surrender now.”
Was he bluffing? There were definitely more shifters but were they close enough to be of any help? Again, his dark eyes gave nothing away. It was like a game of poker with their lives at stake.
“I will give you the same two choices as I gave the women. Come willingly…Mike, if you will…” His colleague fumbled to undo a clip on his belt, producing a pair of handcuffs from a small pouch. “Put those on. Do it now and none of you need to get hurt.”
The shifter’s lips pressed together in a hard line and he folded his arms. “Why would I do that when the others are close? I plan to do everything in my power to delay you so that they can catch up to us. They will kill you when they do.”
“Is that so?” John said, unfazed. “I will kill her if you don’t put those on.”
“No, please!” Sydney begged. “Please don’t. Just do what he says. Do it!” she yelled the last.
Flood shook his head. “I’m sorry, female.”
“Put the cuffs on!” Tim shouted.
“No!” Flood shook his head. “You need to know that if you hurt any of these females, it will be worse for you in the long run.”
“It’s on you if that happens.”
The shifter shook his head, his eyes hardening. “Bullshit!”
“Just do as we say.”
“No!” Evenly delivered. There was no give there at all.
John sighed. “You asked for it.” He nodded once in Tim’s direction. The man raised his firearm and aimed it at the shifter.
There was a clicking noise. Tim cursed and fidgeted with his gun. John cursed even louder.
“Don’t!” the shifter growled, lifting his hands. “You’ll regre—”
It all happened so quickly. There was a deafening bang. The shifter grabbed his chest. Blood flowed freely between his fingers. He muttered something Paige couldn’t make out because Kelly was screaming so loud. Then he fell to his knees, his eyes were still narrowed. He looked angry. More blood flowed. The shifter coughed and a red spray erupted from his mouth.
Paige screamed too, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Haley was muttering something that sounded like ‘Oh god! Oh god!’ but it was hard to hear. Sydney’s eyes widened to about the size of dinner plates.
Paige pressed her lips together to stifle her own screams while Kelly’s just got louder.
The wounded man’s eyes rolled back as he fell forward, face-planting into the ground.
“Shut her up!” John yelled, his gun was still pointed at where the shifter had been standing moments ago.
Mike gripped Kelly’s arm and shook her. “Quiet!” he yelled, but it only made Kelly scream louder still. He slapped her. “Shut the fuck up or join him.”
Kelly clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the screams and doing an okay job of it. Her eyes were locked on the body on the ground.
“Look at me,” Paige instructed. As soon as Kelly turned her way, she was able to get some control back. Her whole body shook. Her eyes were wide, her skin impossibly pale.
“You idiot!” Mike yelled.
“What the fuck was that?” John shoved Sydney away. “Your safety was on. Your fucking safety.” He was shouting at Tim, who looked stricken.
“I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I…I…it…”
“Save it!” John barked. “You had better fucking pray he survives a silver bullet to the chest. You were the one with the regular bullets. You were the one who was supposed to shoot him.”
“Yeah, to slow him down, not kill him.” Mike shook his head.
“I almost had the safety off,” Tim mumbled. “You should have waited.”
“Do you know how quick these bastards are?” John yelled. “We’ll discuss this later. We need to get out of here before we’re ambushed.” John looked around them. For the first time, she saw fear in his eyes. It gave her hope. Maybe the others were close enough to save them. The big guy was a goner. He had to be. No one could survive a bullet to the chest without serious medical intervention and even then… She felt bad for him. Surely he must have known the odds were against him. Why did he approach them in the first place?
“Realistically, I only need two of you,” John said. “That means I can shoot two and still be A-okay.”
Kelly began sobbing all over again. Sydney buried her face in her hands, whimpering. Haley was behind her but it sounded like she might be crying too. Paige felt too shell-shocked to cry herself.
“Now you come willingly. No more bullshit, or you die. Do we understand each other?” Mike spoke this time.
Paige nodded.
“What’s that?” John asked.
They all mumbled or croaked the word ‘yes’.
“Much better. You,” he pointed at her, using his gun, “and you,” he pointed at Sydney. “Grab his legs. Mike and Tim, you take one arm each. Let’s hustle.”
The shifter was heavy. Halfway to the chopper, the other two women were enlisted to help as well, each taking a side. It took what felt like forever but was in reality no more than a couple of minutes to get him in the chopper.
The shifter lay sprawled on the floor of it now. His chest wasn’t moving but he still felt warm to the touch. Was he dead? He looked dead. No more blood flowed from the wound.
“Cuff him!” John yelled as he donned a headset.
“I doubt it’s necessary.” Tim grinned. “Fucker looks dead.” He chuckled.
“Do it!” John’s eyes narrowed. “No more fuck-ups.”
Tim’s jaw tightened but he nodded, putting the cuffs on the shifter.
Mike turned in his seat. “You ladies ready for some action and a whole lot of adventure?”
“Please leave us here,” Hayley pleaded.
“You said that you only need two of us,” Paige tried. “Leave those two behind.” She pointed at Kelly and Hayley.
“No can do,” John said, as he flicked a few switches.
“Leave Kelly then.” Paige touched the younger woman’s arm. “Please,” she added, even though she knew being polite wouldn’t help.
“I must say,” Tim sneered. “I’m quite partial to Kelly. I would hate for her to leave just yet. We still need to get to know one another, don’t we?” He turned to the other woman, who whimpered as Tim winked at her.
Paige put an arm around Kelly, who shook as she cried softly. The engines fired up and they lifted. It all happened so quickly her stomach lurched.
“We have incoming!” Mike yelled so loud she could hear him above the engine noise.
John said something that sounded like, “We prepared for this.” But she couldn’t be sure.
They all scanned the horizon. Even Kelly, who was still crying, snot dripping from her nose. Water streaming from her eyes in rivulets. Sure enough, two dragons were flying towards them at high speed.
Her heart beat faster. Did the shifters know that they were inside the helicopter, or would they attack them indiscriminately?
Mike and John were talking to one another but Paige couldn’t make out what they were saying.
There was a loud popping sound and the chopper gave a quick shudder. Paige watched in horror as something hit one of the dragons. The creature was torn apart. The second dragon was sent reeling from the blast, half of its wing torn clean off. It dropped like a rock. They both did.
Tim cheered, fist pumping the air. “You got ’em!” he shouted.
A plume of dust rose where the beasts landed in a heap. She felt sick to her stomach. That’s when the tears started. She hated that she was showing weakness but she couldn’t stop. That made three of these beautiful, majestic creatures. Destroyed…and for what? She had a horrible feeling she was about to find out.
Chapter 3
They flew for about forty minutes before finally touching down on what looked like a corn farm since there were fields of the stuff all around them. There was a ramshackle house to the far left and several barns scattered about. All of them were old and dilapidated, barring one, which they landed next to.
“Out.” Mike gestured to them with his gun.
John was calling for back-up on a two-way radio. The closest barn doors opened and three men emerged. They were wearing the same fatigues.
“You got one,” one of the men said. “I can’t believe it.”
“Don’t get too excited.” John shook his head. “I had to shoot it with a silver bullet since genius over here left his safety on.” He pointed at Tim who frowned, looking away.
“Gus, you take the women. Put them in cell number two. No need for silver bars for them,” John said. “Once you are done locking them up tight, you can help George get the helicopter covered.”
Gus nodded.
“The rest of you can carry this son of a bitch to cell six. Tim, you get the lucky job of digging out that bullet before it’s too late. Silver kills these fuckers. We might just be too late as it is.”
Tim shook his head. “I’m no doctor.”
“None of us are doctors, dimwit. You shot him, you can fix him. You had better hope he lives.”
“Dig out the bullet.” Tim nodded. “I can do that.” He smiled cruelly.
Paige didn’t like the look in his eyes. Didn’t like Tim, full stop. She stepped forward. “I’ll do it,” she volunteered. “I’m a vet’s assistant. I help with surgeries all the time,” she added.
John looked at her for a good few seconds. She could see he was struggling with a decision.
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