Her Wild Hero

by Paige Tyler

  He grabbed her hand where it still held the bandage over his chest and gave it a squeeze. “Yes, I’ve done this before—a couple of times on missions. I never wanted anyone to know about it, so the guys kept it out of the official reports.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. For the first time since they’d been ambushed, she actually had hope. “What can I do to help?”

  “First, I need to eat and drink as much as I can. Then I need to sleep until my body decides I’ve healed enough.”

  Which, according to him, could be several hours.

  Kendra dug through his pack and pulled out all the food she could find—three and a half energy bars and a roll of cherry-flavored candy.

  “Is that all we have left?” he asked.

  “Yes. And don’t even try to talk me into eating any of it.” She gently lifted his head and held the first of the bars to his mouth. “If you don’t get better fast, I’m not going to need any food.”

  Declan frowned but didn’t argue. He inhaled the power bars and the hard candy practically without chewing, then followed it up with half a canteen of water. When he was done, she rolled up one of his uniform tops and put it under his head as a pillow. Then she sat beside him and gently smoothed her hand over his forehead.

  “My breathing and heart rate will slow down, so don’t be afraid when that happens,” he said softly.

  She didn’t like the sound of that. “How long do you think you’ll sleep?”

  “It’s hard to tell. Twelve hours, maybe more.”

  That wasn’t so bad. “Okay.” She leaned over and gently kissed him. “Sleep tight. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  He smiled at her, his eyes already drifting closed. “I know.”

  Less than a minute later, the sound of his deep, steady breathing told her he’d already drifted off. His breathing slowed little by little until she could barely see his chest move. She had to fight the urge to check to make sure his heart was still beating.

  Kendra looked at her watch. Ten a.m. That meant it’d be dark before he woke up. It was going to be a long twelve hours.

  She took off her bloody T-shirt and put on the only other clean one she had. It was wet, but it was better than being covered in blood. She sat back against one of the boulders and tried to relax. But that was easier said than done. Seeing Declan broken and bloody like this was tearing her up with a pain unlike anything she’d ever experienced. She dragged her gaze away from the bandages covering his chest with a muffled sob and focused on his ruggedly handsome face. She couldn’t imagine a more beautiful man in the whole world, inside or out.

  It was no surprise that she was in love with him.

  She should have been shocked by that, but she wasn’t. Her feelings for Declan had grown in leaps and bounds every day they’d been out here. It was about time she finally admitted it. She only wished she’d gotten the chance to tell him before.

  She blinked back tears. She couldn’t think like that. Declan was going to be fine, and when his body was done healing, he was going to wake up, and they were going to get out of this jungle and go home. Together. And they would make it home. Fate would never be so cruel as to finally allow her to find the love of her life only to lose him.

  Chapter 11

  “There was an ass load of hybrids on their trail,” Clayne said. “Half a dozen, at least.”

  Angelo swore. Now that Clayne and Ivy were following the orchid scent Declan and Kendra had been using to hide from the hybrids, they were finally making up ground. If they kept this pace, they could catch up to the pair by tonight or tomorrow. But the ass load of hybrids Clayne had mentioned threw a kink in that plan. They’d been lucky since the ambush yesterday, but if there were half a dozen hybrids out there somewhere just ahead of them, it was going to slow them down.

  “Any chance it was only a random pack going in the same direction as Declan and Kendra?” Angelo asked.

  Clayne shook his head. “No. The hybrids’ trail is laid down right over Declan’s and Kendra’s. They were tracking them.”

  “How long ago?” Tate asked.

  No one in the group had slept much since they’d started this risky mission, but Tate looked the worst. The anxiety was tearing him up as bad as the guilt, not to mention the lack of sleep.

  Clayne shrugged. “Twenty-four hours ago. Maybe less.”

  Shit. It was hard to imagine Declan and Kendra getting away from that many hybrids.

  “Declan and Kendra have stayed ahead of them this long,” Landon said as if reading Angelo’s mind. “We have to believe they were able to keep it up.”

  Clayne looked skeptical but didn’t argue. “I’m going to catch up with Ivy and Tanner.”

  The wolf shifter turned to go, but Landon caught his arm. “Be careful. And go slow.”

  Clayne nodded, then turned and ran. Angelo didn’t have to ask what Landon had meant by that warning. If the pack of hybrids had already taken out Declan and Kendra, the rest of them could be walking right into another ambush. Everyone else must have been thinking the same thing, because they spread out without being told.

  Clayne, Ivy, and Tanner led the way up a lightly wooded slope before disappearing over the crest. Angelo would have picked up the pace to catch up with them, but Landon ordered them to stay back until he got to the top of the hill and gave the all clear. But instead of waving them forward, Landon held up a clenched fist, then spread his hand wide. Angelo immediately dropped for cover. Around him, the other men did the same.

  Angelo scanned the slope. Shit. There wasn’t a tree or a rock big enough to hide behind within two feet of any of them. Not exactly the best place to get caught out in the open. He tightened his grip on his M4, ready to pull the trigger.

  Up ahead, Landon glanced over his shoulder and waved them forward. Angelo jumped to his feet and ran up the hill, Tate and the others on his heels. Twenty minutes later, they were following Landon into the jungle to where Ivy, Clayne, and Tanner waited.

  Angelo stopped and stared in amazement. The six dead hybrids lying on the ground around them were easy enough to figure out. What had him stumped were the six shallow graves that had been dug near the river.

  “What the hell happened here?” Tate asked.

  “Declan happened,” Clayne said, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth.

  “Yeah, I figured that,” Tate said. “I meant the graves. I seriously doubt Declan hung around to bury the bastards after they tried to kill him and Kendra.”

  “So what are the holes for?” Derek made a face. “Damn, are those flowers in there?”

  It was Ivy who answered. “Yeah. The same ones Declan’s been using to cover their trail. I think the hybrids hid in the holes so they could ambush Declan and Kendra.”

  “The orchid smell is so thick, Declan would never have been able to smell them,” Tanner added.

  Clayne growled. “Fucking bastards. Didn’t matter, though. Declan kicked the shit out of them anyway.” He nudged the hybrid closest to him with his boot. “He smashed this one to a pulp, and just about ripped the heads off those two over there.”

  “Declan wasn’t the only one kicking ass.” Ivy had moved over to the other side of the clearing. “Two of the hybrids were shot. It looks like Kendra stabbed this one to death with the barrel of her M4, too. Her scent is all over him but none of her blood.”

  “Damn.” Derek laughed. “I knew Kendra was a badass.”

  “Looks like it.” Tate grinned. “Let’s go find them. They can’t be too far ahead of us now.”

  Angelo was down with that. But Clayne and Ivy made no move to lead the way. Tanner stared at the ground.

  “What’s wrong?” Angelo asked.

  Clayne exchanged looks with Ivy. “We don’t know where they went.”

  Everyone stared at him.

  “What do you mean, you don’t know where they went?” Tate demanded.

  “We can’t pick up their scent,” Ivy explained.

  Tate frowne
d. “Can’t you just follow the smell of those damn flowers like you’ve been doing?”

  She shook her head. “We swept a hundred meter perimeter before you got here. We didn’t pick up the scent of those flowers anywhere. The only thing we smelled were more hybrids.”

  “Shit,” Angelo muttered. “How many of them?”

  “A couple scouting packs,” Clayne said. “Not as many as this bunch, but we’re still talking at least three or four of them. No doubt, they’re looking for Declan and Kendra, too. Hopefully, they’re not having better luck than we are.”

  Tate swore. “What the hell do we do now?”

  “Hang here while we try to pick up Declan and Kendra’s physical trail,” Ivy said.

  We meaning her, Clayne, and Tanner.

  “Again?” Tate scowled. “That took forever before.”

  “It’s the best we can do right now,” Ivy said.

  And it was a hell of a lot better than they could do on their own, that was for sure, Angelo thought.

  She gave Landon a long look, then turned to follow Clayne and Tanner in the jungle.

  “You heard Ivy,” Landon said. “We hang tight here until they get a bead on Declan and Kendra. Until then, let’s make sure we’re ready if any more hybrids decide to show up.”

  Angelo dropped his pack and pulled out his NVGs. The sun was already going down, and if recent experience was any indication, they were going to be in for another all-nighter.

  ***

  Kendra hadn’t checked Declan’s wounds since the sun had gone down an hour ago, but they’d all closed up, even the deep ones. She never would have believed it was possible, but he really was healing himself. She knew shifters healed fast. She’d personally seen how quickly Ivy had recovered from the torture those freak doctors had put her through. But as bad as those wounds had been—punctures, scalpel cuts, pieces of skin sliced off—they’d been minor compared to the ragged claw marks crisscrossing Declan’s body.

  She didn’t know how Declan had been able to keep this talent hidden from the DCO for so long, but ultimately she didn’t care. He was going to live, and that was the only thing that mattered to her. It had been a long day in the cramped shelter waiting for him to wake up, and from how slow his breathing and heart rate still were, he was probably a long way from coming out of his hibernation.

  She gently smoothed his hair back from his forehead. She’d figured out a while ago—when she’d laid her ear on his chest to convince herself that his heart was still beating—that her touch wouldn’t rouse him. It had been beating…albeit very slowly. Since then, she’d held his hand, refusing to let go. Even that simple contact made her feel better.

  As she sat holding his hand, she kept an ear out for hybrids, but so far she hadn’t heard any. And in between doing that, she’d daydreamed about all the things she and Declan might do once they got back home. Making love topped the list, of course. Followed by going out to dinner. Or maybe they’d just get takeout. That way they wouldn’t have to leave her apartment—or his—for days. She wondered what his place looked like. Probably very rustic, with lots of wood and outdoorsy furniture. But mostly she just wanted to hang out with him and make up for all she’d missed with him in the past seven years.

  Kendra was still smiling at that image when she heard a noise outside. Her heart catapulted into her throat. Just because she heard something, that didn’t mean it was a hybrid. There were all kinds of animals out here in the jungle.

  Pulse pounding, she slipped on her NVGs and quietly moved aside the branches covering the entrance to their shelter just enough to take a quick peek.

  The trees along the stream were sparse enough to allow a little moonlight to filter through them and illuminate the scene. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle a gasp. Two hundred yards away, a pack of hybrids were slowly crawling along the bank of the nearby stream, sniffing the ground. In the green backlight of the NVGs, the glow from the creatures’ eyes was unmistakable.

  She could definitely make out three of them for sure, but there could have been more. They were moving slowly, following the exact route she and Declan had taken earlier that day. As much as she wanted to believe that they’d keep following the stream and pass her and Declan by, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. It was only a matter of time before they reached the shelter.

  She glanced at Declan. He was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the danger they were in. With her low on ammo and Declan in a self-induced coma, the fight would be over before it started. Once she was dead, the hybrids could do anything they wanted to Declan. She wouldn’t let him be tortured the way Ivy had, not when there was something she could do about it.

  Kendra flipped up her goggles and leaned over to kiss Declan hard on the lips. He didn’t respond, but she liked to think he could sense her. “I love you, my big, gentle teddy bear, and don’t you ever forget it.”

  She kissed him again, softer this time, then gently wiped away one of her tears that had fallen to his cheek. She wished she could write him a note, so he’d know what had happened to her, but there wasn’t time for that, even if she had something to write on.

  She traced her fingers along his scruffy jaw, regretting all the things she hadn’t gotten a chance to say. But another clatter of rock on rock from down by the stream reminded her that she had no time for this. She grabbed her M4, dropped her NVGs back into place, and eased out of the shelter.

  Kendra knew she couldn’t go directly toward the hybrids. She needed to lure them well away from Declan before she tried to take them out. That way, if she failed—which was pretty likely—Declan would still have a chance. Best case, they wouldn’t be able to find him at all. Worst case, at least she’d give him time to wake up.

  She closed her eyes and tried to get a feel for which way the wind was blowing. Ivy had taught her the trick of turning until you felt the breeze on your cheeks, and it pretty much worked. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the wind would carry her scent down to the hybrids. If she moved slowly and carefully, and didn’t make any noise, she stood a good chance of getting away from the shelter without them realizing that she was there. As fast as her heart was beating, she’d be amazed they hadn’t already heard it.

  She turned parallel to the stream and headed away from the hybrids, which meant she was going in the same direction they were. Moving quietly along the rocky slope she was on proved difficult while wearing her goggles. The less-than-stellar depth perception the things provided made avoiding all the stones damn near impossible. But she did it, at least long enough to get out ahead of the slow-moving hybrids before slipping down toward the stream.

  She turned to look over her shoulder. It took a few moments to find them in the dark. Three of them were crawling along the ground on their hands and knees, sniffing as they went, while a fourth walked beside them. Crap, she could recognize the one walking—it was Marcus’s second-in-command. And he was leading his group of hybrid bloodhounds right toward Declan’s hiding spot.

  They were moving at a slow pace. If she was trying to escape, she very likely could have, but that wasn’t what she was trying to do.

  It was hard to tell for sure, but the hybrids were probably getting close to the section of the stream where she and Declan had headed up the slope to their makeshift shelter. If the creatures were locked on a good scent, they’d be turning up the slope any second.

  She needed to get their attention before they reached that point.

  Flipping up her goggles—she’d never be able to hit anything with them on—she hefted her M4 to her shoulder and sighted at the second-in-command. If there was one hybrid she wanted to kill first, it was him. She popped off one three-round burst at him. She didn’t wait to see what she hit. She just dropped her NVGs back into place and took off running.

  Being stealthy wasn’t important now; moving as fast as possible was. She wanted the hybrids to know exactly where she was. And she wanted them to chase her.

  Behind her, their growl
s got louder as they got closer. Their boots pounded the ground as they caught up to her. They were even faster than she thought. At this rate, they’d be on her before she got far enough away from the shelter.

  Hating to do it, but knowing she had to slow them down at least a little, Kendra slid to a stop, then turned and lifted her M4. She had maybe fifteen rounds left, at most. She couldn’t afford to waste one of them. She flipped the selector switch to semi and carefully lined up a shot at the first hybrid sprinting toward her. Well, as lined up as she could get it while wearing NVGs. She squeezed the trigger slowly, refusing to let adrenaline get the best of her.

  She fired three carefully aimed shots, hitting at least one of them and making all four hybrids slow down. She got another forty or fifty feet before they were on her heels again. Not that she was complaining, but why the hell weren’t they shooting at her? Were they so interested in killing her with their fangs and claws that they’d rather chase her than shoot her? She supposed she should consider herself lucky—until she thought about how painful those fangs and claws were going to feel tearing her flesh.

  The chase turned into a crazy game of Red Light, Green Light as she turned around at random to shoot at the creatures. While it slowed them down, the game couldn’t last forever. For one thing, she didn’t have enough ammo. For another, she was getting tired much faster than the hybrids ever would. But she’d put a fair distance between them and Declan—maybe almost a mile. Would it be enough? She could only hope it was at the same time she pushed for more.

  Then she heard her pursuers crashing through the jungle from her left and right, and she knew she’d made it as far as she could. They were flanking her in an effort to end the chase.

  Kendra sped up, but it wasn’t fast enough at this point. She was so damn tired. Her legs felt wasted while her stomach and chest were one solid cramp of protesting muscles. She didn’t bother to turn and shoot again. She only had a couple rounds left, and she figured she was going to have a chance to use them at close range any second now.