by T. S. Joyce
“Harley!” she screamed as two more mountain lions ran through the snow for him. “Scrape him off!” She pulled the rifle tight to her shoulder and aimed for the cats coming for him. She wasn’t a good enough shot to take a crack at the one on him without possibly hitting Harley, but she could keep the others off.
The bear wasn’t alone anymore. The woods were filled with bellowing predators, so loud her head was filled with the noise. No matter how long she lived, she would never forget the sound of shifter warfare. She didn’t have time to think, only react. Pull the gun, safety off, deep breath, hold like Trigger taught her. Aim, brush that trigger, boom! Pull that bolt back, shove another bullet in the chamber. Fuck, too close, and the cougar that was charging through the snow was coming for her now, not the horse. She lifted the rifle, but it wasn’t fast enough before he was on her. He hit her with the force of a head on collision, and she hit the ground hard. Pain. The roaring in her head was so loud. So loud. The weight on her disappeared, and she opened her eyes just in time to see the cat hit a tree and fall to the snow.
Two massive paws were on either side of her hips, and in horror, she looked up into the massive block head of a grizzly. He peeled his lips back from long canines that dripped red. His fur was black as night, but his eyes blazed that familiar gold.
“Trigger,” she pleaded. “It’s me. I love you. I love you. It’s me. Yours.” Chest heaving, heart pounding so hard she thought it would break her rib cage, she stared up into the empty, bloodthirsty eyes of the monster she loved.
His gaze flickered to something above her, and he bunched his muscles. She curled in on herself as he lurched forward. Harley wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but two cougars leapt on Trig, then three. Searching for the rifle in the snow, Ava scrambled to help. Through the trees was another fight. The War-Bear and her brother clashed and slapped and bled each other with such violence she couldn’t fit her Colton into one of those massive apex predators. He was a beast, full of power, and it didn’t make sense with what she remembered of Colton’s gentleness. Warmaker.
More cats were coming in, another six that were gracefully lethal, and now she was right in the middle of a brawl. Both sides were okay with death. No one was holding back. The rifle lay in the snow a few feet away, and she lifted it, wincing at the pain of her clawed forearm, but she didn’t need the weapon. Trigger was vengeance, a shield of fur and claws and fury, sticking so close to her she could reach out and touch him if she wanted. She stood there in the snow, legs locked, rifle arching with each cat that charged Trig, watching in awe as the great grizzly spun and clawed and ripped cats from his back, shook them with his teeth, tossed them like they were rag dolls. Any who came for her, she didn’t even have time to pull the trigger. It was as if he had his senses tuned to her. He plucked them from the air before they could get to her. He kept her untouched and safe. Lions littered the snow, and red painted it, and she was watching the haunting of Two Claws Woods in the making. This place would never be the same, but it wasn’t on her boys. Not on her Clan. This was on the Darby Clan. They’d come to ruin lives, but ruined themselves instead.
The ground shook as one of the bears hit the snow like a felled tree. Trigger tossed his head in the direction of the downed animal and stood up on his hind legs. The cougars scattered as Trigger let off a deafening roar. And the other bear with the blond fur stood and joined him.
One by one, the mountain lions that remained slunk away.
She couldn’t find it in her to be sympathetic that they’d lost. Colton lowered to all fours, his blond fur red over his ribs. Trigger’s fur was matted with crimson, and Ava…when she lowered the rifle to her side, could feel the throbbing ache of claw marks and warmth streaming down to her wrist. It would hurt when the adrenaline rush faded away. Through the trees, Harley stomped his front hoof over and over, dragging it through the snow in agitation, his skin twitching, the claw marks on his withers shiny and dark.
Trigger was three times her height when he was standing like this, and even when he lowered to all fours, the muscular hump between his shoulders still towered over her. When he turned, his eyes were still half-empty, his lips snarled back. And then he Changed, right there, right where she could witness how painful it must be, and she understood what he’d meant when he’d said she would watch their sons hurt with each Change. Bones broke, muscles reshaped, and though it was a fast shift, ten seconds maybe, she couldn’t even imagine the pain involved.
He went straight to his knees the second he was human. His body twitched and shook, and he was bleeding, but his eyes were only for her. He tried to get up, but he stumbled back into the snow.
She ran to him, set the rifle down, and wrapped him up in her arms. “Trigger, Trigger,” she chanted on a whisper.
“Tell me you’re okay,” he said hoarsely, his hand tight around the back of her neck, his other clutching her sweater in an unbreakable fist. He was rocking them gently back and forth, but he was shaking so bad.
“I’m okay. No one bit me, just scratched.”
“Fuck. Fuck. Ava.” He sounded gutted, so she hugged him tighter, but he grunted in pain.
“It’s okay. Everything is okay. Chase was waiting for me in the cabin, but Kurt fought him.”
Trigger tensed. “Kurt defended you? Against Chase?”
“Yes. He pulled him off and Changed right there. They were fighting when I left with the rifle.”
“Colton,” Trig called. “Kurt switched sides.”
“Shhhit,” her brother said from behind them. “I’ll check on him.”
Ava could hear his feet crunching through the snow as he passed, but she’d buried her face against Trigger’s neck and didn’t want to move.
“Go get his kid,” Trigger called after him. “Get him before the Darby Clan does.”
“What’s happening?” she asked.
God, Trigger was shaking so bad she wanted to take her sweater off and wrap it around him.
When she tried, though, he stopped her. “It ain’t the cold. My body hurts after the Change. Doesn’t matter if Kurt is alive, or lying dead in my cabin right now, his cub is at risk. Kurt turned traitor on the Clan. He protected you. I owe him. His cub will be under my protection now.”
Now she was shaking. Part of it was from the frigid wind and her thin clothes and part of it was the adrenaline crash that was commandeering her body. Or maybe it was shock. She eased off his neck and looked around at the lions in the snow. At the red. Eight bodies. No…nine. Ten.
“Don’t look,” Trigger rumbled, his voice raw. He cupped her cheeks and drew her gaze back to his. Shaking his head, he murmured, “You don’t have to look, Ava. I need you to go back to the cabin, okay? Can you see the porch light through the trees?”
She nodded, her eyes burning with tears. “Yes.”
“Follow Colton’s footprints, go straight to his cabin. Take the rifle. You need to warm up. Okay? Your skin is completely frozen. Warm up in Colton’s cabin, don’t go in the big one. Colt and I will take care of everything.”
“I should…I should…help.” With what, she didn’t know.
“The biggest help you can do is be safe and warm so I can focus on taking care of everything out here. Hey,” he said, pulling her drifting gaze back to his again. His voice dipped to a whisper as he told her, “You did so fucking good. So good. Your part is done.”
She gripped his wrists and nodded. There was no way in hell she wanted to leave him here, but it’s what he was asking, what he needed, so she forced herself to stand on unstable legs.
Biting her bottom lip hard, she bent over and picked up the rifle, made sure the safety was on, and followed Colton’s footprints into the dim light.
“Ava.”
“Yeah, Trig?” she asked, turning.
He sat there on his knees in the snow, his skin pale and stark in contrast to his tattoos. Blood, mussed hair, golden eyes that held her steady. Warrior. He’d kept her safe tonight. Again.
“I love you,
too. Never forget that, okay?”
Her heart had soared at the first part, at his admission of his feelings, but she’d grown confused by the second. It was the grit in his voice that did it. The sorrow.
Her heart ached for reasons she didn’t understand as she nodded and promised him, “I won’t forget.”
And as she left him there to walk back to the cabin, it struck her.
Tonight the Darby Clan had been destroyed.
And in the wake of that destruction, the Two Claws Clan had been born.
There had been a goodbye in Trigger’s voice, but her mind was made up.
Shifters. Outlaws. Danger. Pain. Uncertainty. So much work ahead just to save this place. This home.
Love. Protection. Devotion. Loyalty. Knowing…knowing…the boys had her back always.
It didn’t matter what she’d done up until this point in her other life. It felt so far away. It only mattered that she owned the life she was destined for, and this felt important. Trigger was important. His story as alpha of this Clan was just beginning, and leaving him would mean leaving her heart in these mountains.
Colton had talked about chasing a half-life, and he was right. She was done with that.
This was her stand, this was her place, this was her home, this was her family, this was her man. This was her life.
This was where she belonged.
Chapter Fifteen
The fire of Colton’s stone hearth crackled and seemed loud in the thickening silence. Genie was asleep in her cage, finally. That little rodent had glared at Ava since she’d come in out of the cold but finally got bored and passed out. Ava was cuddled up on the recliner under a blanket, knees to her chest to keep warm, her arm in full bandages and throbbing despite the pain meds Colton had given her when he fixed her up. He was really good at first aid. Too good, and she’d wondered how many times he’d worked on Trigger, and on himself. Between Kurt and Colton, Kurt’s dark-haired little three-year-old boy slept soundly all curled on the couch under a blanket.
It was Kurt who broke the heavy silence. “I’ll be leaving as soon as I heal up.”
“You don’t have to, you know?” Colton assured him.
“I do,” Kurt said, tiredly. He was pale, and his entire torso was covered in bandages, which showed through his unbuttoned flannel shirt. His cowboy hat sat on the armrest right beside him. He looked like he’d aged a hundred years in a night; his eyes were so exhausted.
“Thank you for what you did,” Ava murmured.
He gave a half smile and looked down at his son. “I couldn’t stand by and watch them carry out what they planned. Can’t teach my boy to be a good man someday if I’m not a good man. If I don’t try to do what’s right. Y’all are good people, just different. Chase never understood that there’s nothing wrong with different.”
Colton’s gaze drifted to her again. He had been watching her for the past hour since he’d come back to the cabin from helping Trigger. Watching her like a hawk on a mouse. He bit the edge of his thumbnail and stretched out one of his legs while she curled down deeper under her blanket. She’d never been so tired in her whole life, but she couldn’t sleep until Trigger came back.
She fingered the bandage on her arm and said, “Colton, just say what it is you want to say.”
He pursed his lips and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clamped in front of him. “You don’t seem scared off.”
She shook her head. “I know I should be. I know that’s the normal reaction, but maybe I have the bits that Dad was missing, too.”
“Loyal?”
She nodded. “I love Trig. I love you. I want to stay and see this thing through. I want to be here to watch things improve for you. I want to be a part of this story. It feels big.”
“You made up your mind then?”
“I’m staying. This is my place. My home.” She offered him a tired smile. “This is my Clan.”
Kurt snorted. “Two rogue bears and a human does not a Clan make.”
“We’re outlaws, don’t you know?” she asked cheekily. “We don’t follow the rules.”
The door swung open, letting in the cold breeze. In the open door frame, Trigger stood tall as a redwood, strong and steady again in a flannel shirt, worn jeans, and boots, his hat drawn low over his eyes, but it didn’t hide the bright color there. In his hand was something that instantly hollowed out her heart and made her feel empty. Empty and then stubborn. He held her suitcase. He wouldn’t meet her eyes when he said, “I’ve got a prop plane lined up for you. I know it’s a little early and we haven’t finished the business stuff, but this needs to happen.”
Ava shrugged. Numbly, she said, “Okay.” Standing, she let the blanket slip to the chair and waved to Kurt.
Colton stood and followed her to the coat rack, and together they dressed for the frosty morning.
“You’re taking this easier than I thought you would.” Trigger sounded so sad, but what was the point in arguing with him? He was running.
“I scared you last night,” she said.
“Very much.”
“And you’ll always do this, won’t you? The back and forth. Wanting to draw me in close, then push me away to keep me safe?”
“If it’s me and my life that puts you in danger, then yes.”
“Okay.”
Trigger turned and walked out to the porch. “I’ll wait in the truck.”
Oh, he was hurt at how easy she was making this, but he didn’t need to be. Ava slipped her feet into her snow boots and grabbed her purse, then led the way out to Trigger’s truck, which was smoking out exhaust, already warming up.
Colton waved and said, “See you in a few,” and headed to his own truck.
“Where is he going?” Trig asked out the open window.
“To get in his truck so he can give me a ride from wherever you drop me off at.”
Trigger’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“Hey, Colton?” Ava said.
“Yep?” he asked, walking backward.
“If I asked you to bite me…would you?”
“Gladly,” he said through a bright smile.
“Cool, we’ll do it when we get back home then.”
“What?” Trig asked louder. Now he looked mad.
Ava pulled open the passenger side door, settled in front of the vent, and buckled her belt. “If I’m a bear shifter too, then you don’t have to worry about shooing me away every time I’m in danger. And if Colton bites me, you don’t have to carry a single ounce of guilt. And look how happy he is.” She pointed to where Colton was performing a drum solo in his truck to some rock music. “He won’t feel guilty biting me.”
“No!”
“Yes.”
“Ava, no.”
“Yeeeees,” she sang in an opera voice. “Do you want to listen to country or rock music on the way to the airport? There’s a hundred percent chance I’ll have a headache on the way back from listening to whatever that disaster is rockin’ out to in his truck,” she said, jamming a finger at Colton again. Probably screamo music from the way his head was thrown back. He was basically howling one long word that she could easily hear from here.
“This isn’t how this is supposed to go.”
“Mmm, I think nothing is going to be the way it’s supposed to go in this Clan.”
“We’re not a Clan.”
“Two Claws Clan. Should I update the website to say that?”
“No! Because we aren’t a Clan!”
“Whatever you say, Alpha. Can we get to driving? I’m ready to get back here so I can get some sleep. Last night was a little crazy, what with the war and the bears and the trying to survive and all. Also, I’m hungry. Can we stop for breakfast, or do you want me to wait until Colton drives me back home?”
“Home,” he repeated, his eyes round as he searched her face.
She smiled. “Yeah, silly. Home.”
He looked over at the big house, where the windows were busted out, the door had been
ripped off, and the porch was destroyed from Kurt and Chase’s fight. “Home is a mess.”
“We’ll fix it. Together. And besides. Home isn’t a building, Trig.”
“What is it then?”
Ava unbuckled and scooted all the way over. “Home is you.”
He looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and her stomach erupted with that fluttering sensation she knew he would give her for the rest of their lives. He was so good at giving her butterflies.
Trigger put his arm over her shoulder and drew her in close, kissed her hair, and let his lips linger there. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Because this is the only time I’m going to ask, and this is your chance to back out. If we do this, you’re here to stay. I’ll follow you if you leave.”
Ava curled up her legs in his lap and nuzzled her face against his arm. “You’re mine and I’m yours, Trig. And that’s just the way it is. Maybe that’s what it always was, but we just fought it. At some point, we have to both pick a path. And for me, it’s so clear that my path is you. And Colton, and Darby, and this place. And a future baby reindeer.”
He chuckled and hooked his fingertips under the crease of one of her knees. “God, I love you, Ava Dorset.”
“I love you too, so quit trying to shoo me away. It’s a waste of time. I’m not going anywhere, and you yourself said I’m stubborn as a hair in a biscuit. So…either I can turn into a bear, like you and Colton, or I can stay human, and you can make an oath to me right here and now that no matter what, you’ll never push me away again.”
Trig couldn’t seem to help the smile that kept curving up his lips. “I get to keep you?”
“You better keep me. I’m very needy, and also I’m gonna get us on track with the trail rides, I have my business to set up here, and I’m going to keep you from eating tourists, and keep that one”—she pointed at Colton—“from adopting more rabid squirrels.”
