Shift Out of Luck

by Abigail Owen

  Something was definitely off here. Usually not prone to being easily alarmed, the warning sirens going off in her head had Tala acting on instinct. She slipped her phone from her backpack. Keeping it out of Dolph’s line of sight, she dialed the number Marrok had given her. She couldn’t risk putting it on speaker or Dolph would hear her mate. With his enhanced hearing, he might hear, anyway, but she had to take that risk.

  “Do you mind if we stop?”

  He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Why?”

  She waved at her computer. “Reading on a bumpy road was a terrible idea. I’m not feeling well.”

  He shook his head. “We’re not far from the town of Rand.”

  The exact opposite direction from where they’d been headed and dragon shifter territory. “Rand?” She played it cool. “Wow. We really did get rerouted.”

  Dolph grunted in agreement.

  “I assume we got permission from the Alliance to be here?”

  Another grunt that she supposed could be an affirmative. But doubted it.

  She pushed the button for the window, but it refused to budge. “Can you unlock the window?”

  “Why?”

  In the rearview mirror, Tala pinned him with her iciest stare. “Because I want to roll it down. Fresh air might help.”

  Dolph remained silent.

  Tala’s wolf started to pace. Very slowly she tightened her seatbelt. “Stop the car.”

  No response.

  Tala imbued the command with all the alpha at her disposal. “I said—”

  Dolph pulled out a pistol and aimed it straight at her.

  In a flash Tala threw her computer at him. The heavy projectile struck him in the head. Reflex made him squeeze the trigger, and the gun went off. Dolph slumped forward, out cold, and the SUV swerved as his heavy body turned the wheel. Tala braced herself as the vehicle slammed into the granite rock of the mountain, the impact jarring, throwing her against her seatbelt so hard, pain spiked through her right side and her head snapped back and forth. The world upended as they flipped onto the roof and skidded, with a sickening screech of metal on asphalt, before slamming to an abrupt halt that jolted her so hard, she felt like a ragdoll being shaken by a dog.

  Dazed, she took a second to breathe and evaluate her situation. Nothing more than bumps and bruises, maybe a cracked rib, thank the gods. The distinct, tinny scent of gasoline filled the air. The fumes also served to clear her head. Time to move. With a click, she released her seatbelt and dropped to her hands and knees, ignoring the bite of glass in her palms. The doors were locked and wouldn’t unlock from the backseat.

  She grabbed her phone, which lay among the rubble, and scrambled between the seats up to the front. She managed to maneuver around Dolph’s unconscious form, giving a grim smile at the sight of blood oozing from a cut on the back of his head, and hit the button to unlock the doors, but the passenger door wouldn’t budge when she went to open it. Tala closed her eyes and accessed the full strength of her wolf. With a mighty shove and the wail of metal against metal, she forced the door open, barely wide enough for her to squeeze out.

  She held up her cell phone and swore at the spider web pattern on the screen. Sure enough, when she went to turn it on, the display was all scrambled. Dolph was unconscious but could wake any moment. Who knew how close or far his fellow traitors were from her? Tala was convinced Dolph had been taking her to others, likely to kill her.

  She needed to move. Now.

  Tala hustled up into the trees on the other side of the road. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply before willing the change. Only a whimper escaped her lips as her body accommodated its four-legged form, injuries from the crash adding a slice of pain.

  Time for brains over brawn. She took off through the forest. Hopefully, the damn dragons weren’t anywhere close. They didn’t exactly love wolf shifters. Especially an alpha.

  Chapter Eleven

  After Tala had driven away, Marrok hadn’t been able to sit still. He had a few more hours before his own ride arrived. While he might not be able to stay with his mate in her territory, he could at least be close by. While he waited, he decided a run as a wolf would help bleed off this sense of wrongness inside him.

  Wolf shifters found nature soothing, and he needed soothing.

  After shifting quickly, he took off into the surrounding woods. He ran and ran. No purpose, no direction guided his paws. With all his heart, he wished Tala was at his side, gorgeous with her white and gray coat and smooth movements.

  Had their few days together been enough?

  Eventually Marrok knew he had to go back. For a brief moment, he tilted his face to the sky and enjoyed the breeze ruffling his fur. He dug his claws into the hard ground and enjoyed the power of his muscles tightly coiled. But the need for his mate turned his feet toward the cabin.

  As he neared the clearing, his pace slowed to an easy lope, then a trot. A truck built for off-road, with large tires and roll bar, stood parked out front. Marrok circled the clearing, still hidden in the woods, and cautiously sniffed the air. Recognizing the scent of one of his people, he relaxed and emerged.

  Outside the cabin he took the minute to make the change, then stepped inside to find Rafe waiting for him at the small kitchen table.

  “I won’t take long,” Marrok said.

  The other wolf shifter, never much of a talker, gave him a thumbs-up.

  Marrok pulled on his jeans and had his T-shirt over his head when his phone rang. He yanked the shirt down and grabbed the device off the coffee table. Tala’s number popped up on the display, and he answered. “Tala?”

  A short silence greeted him, but he could hear the noise of her SUV on the road. “Tala?” he repeated.

  “Do you mind if we stop?” Her voice was faint, far away from the phone.

  Panic slammed through him so hard he had to slap both hands on the table to keep from collapsing. Stop what? She wanted to stop their mating? Stop the truce? What? He thought they’d made progress. “Baby, wait—”

  “Why?” A male voice cut him off. He recognized Dolph, the Canis shifter who’d picked her up. Marrok frowned and listened.

  Tala spoke next. “Reading on a bumpy road was a terrible idea. I’m not feeling well.” Had she butt-dialed him?

  “We’re not far from the town of Rand.”

  Marrok cocked his head. Rand was the exact opposite direction from where Tala was going. Also, dragon shifter territory. “Rand,” she said, still sounding perfectly calm. “Wow. We really did get rerouted.”

  Dolph grunted in agreement.

  “I assume we got permission from the Alliance to be here?”

  Another grunted response.

  Another pause. “Can you unlock the window?” Tala asked next.

  Something was definitely wrong. This was too casual. Too coincidental. No way had she dialed him by accident. Not only did he seriously doubt Tala ever got carsick, but she was nervous. Marrok could hear it in her voice, though he doubted Dolph could. Marrok knew his mate. How he did after a relatively short time with her was beyond him. Perhaps their bond was strengthening. Regardless, her nerves jangled across the line at him.

  “Why?” Dolph asked.

  “Because I want to roll it down.” No irritation laced her words. “Fresh air might help.”

  Dolph remained silent.

  “Stop the car.” She’d changed from requesting to ordering.

  No response.

  “I said—”

  A soft gasp reached his ears. If he hadn’t been a wolf shifter, he wouldn’t have caught it. The unmistakable pop of gunfire was followed by what sounded like the racket of a car crash. Panic slammed through Marrok again, his heart taking off like a sprinter, adrenaline scorching his veins, and his wolf pushed to be released.

  Marrok gripped the phone. “Tala?” he yelled
.

  No answer.

  “Tala!”

  But the line was dead.

  Marrok breathed hard. He had to think, had to save his mate. His wolf was frantic inside his head.

  “Boss?” Rafe’s snarl caught Marrok’s attention, and he raised his head to find the wolf shifter beside him.

  “Did you hear all that?”

  A nod.

  Marrok shoved the phone at him. “Keys.”

  Rafe fished them out and put them in Marrok’s outstretched hand before he followed Marrok out to the truck.

  “Call Astra first,” Marrok ordered as they got in. Tala’s sister might be in danger, too. “Then call Blaez.” Rafe would understand Marrok meant to have the commander of their fighters rally the troops.

  He cranked the engine and took off through the trees. White-knuckled, he gripped the wheel, pushing the truck over the rough terrain faster than was prudent. How long had he been out there running? If they were close to Rand, they were almost two hours away.

  He had to get to Tala.

  …

  Ninety minutes later, Marrok crouched beside the demolished SUV his mate had driven away in this morning. Only iron will and the knowledge that losing his shit wouldn’t help had him biting knife-edged fury slashing through him. Fury because otherwise he’d be in a dead panic. His wolf clawed at his insides, slamming against his skin in a frenzy to get out. He’d loose the beast soon enough, but first he needed to determine a plan.

  The vehicle had been abandoned. A small pool of blood stained the ground on the driver’s side. Marrok trailed his fingers through it and inhaled. Not Tala. The scent of her blood was sweeter, richer. He’d tasted it when he’d claimed her. This blood was sharper, almost darker. Dolph probably. Good. He hoped that fucker was bleeding to death somewhere in the woods.

  “Boss,” Rafe called from the tree line.

  Marrok rose and crossed to where he stood.

  “Look.” Rafe indicated a series of paw prints. The smaller set had to be Tala. He could smell her—earth and wildflowers, like the field at their cabin. His wolf snarled. More prints followed hers into the woods. Tala was being hunted.

  These prints were larger and deeper, male wolf shifters—at least six of them. Too many for Tala to fight on her own. The new set of prints were fresher, the scents stronger, more recent. At a guess, he was only twenty minutes behind them, which meant Tala had a decent head start, assuming she wasn’t hampered by injury and Dolph hadn’t gotten to her already.

  Marrok yanked his shirt over his head. “I’m going after her. Stay here and wait for the others.”

  Rafe opened his mouth to argue, but shut it, his jaw squared, and nodded.

  “I’ll leave an obvious trail to follow.” He didn’t wait for Rafe to acknowledge. The change couldn’t come fast enough. He willed his body to adjust and reform faster. His wolf practically burst from his skin.

  “Damn!” Rafe jumped back.

  Marrok took off after his mate and the wolves who hunted her. His long strides ate up the ground as his enhanced sense of smell allowed him to keep a decent pace and stick to the trail. After about ten minutes, though, he skidded to a halt. The obvious trail went off to his left, but his wolf insisted they go right, a gut-level instinct telling him he’d find his mate in this direction.

  He wasted time debating what the facts told him versus what his soul told him was true. If he chose wrong, he’d never get to her in time. His wolf made the decision for him, taking off to the right.

  Twenty more minutes of running—the sounds of the woods fading under the steady beat of his feet against the ground and the rush of air in his lungs—and the trail, or whatever pulled him through the woods, went cold.

  Marrok stopped and stood in silence. He engaged all the enhanced senses at his disposal to search the trees around him. His wolf whimpered. Had he chosen wrong?

  A soft whistle caught his attention. Marrok whipped his head around to look straight up into the eyes of the woman he loved. Tala, in her human form, perched high in the branches of a tall, slender pine tree.

  “Thank the gods.”

  At her answering smile, relief and realization flooded his system in a simultaneous rush. She was safe. He’d found her in time. And he loved her and hadn’t told her so. He had no idea when convenience had turned to respect and had become love. All he knew was that losing her would’ve killed him.

  He changed forms before he consciously thought to do so. He needed to hold her in his arms, assure himself she was real. While his body realigned, she must’ve scrambled down the tree, because when Marrok rose, she slammed into him and coiled herself around his body, and he pulled her even closer, breathing in her sweet scent, grateful as hell he’d found her.

  After a long moment just holding her, Marrok pulled back, though he didn’t let her go. “Are you okay? Hurt?”

  She shook her head, her blond hair falling into her eyes. “Bruises, scrapes from jumping tree to tree. Nothing that won’t heal. How’d you find me?” She scrunched her nose.

  Without her saying, he knew she was chagrined at being tracked so easily. He brushed the hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I don’t know. My wolf knew you were this way. Did you lay a false path?”

  She leaned into his touch. “Yes. Then doubled back in the trees.”

  Pride joined the layers of relief and love vying for his attention. “You’re incredible.”

  She grimaced. “My own people are trying to kill me. Maybe incredible is a strong term.”

  “Not all of them.”

  She frowned her question.

  “I’ve been in touch with Astra. She says only eight or nine wolves appear to be in on this attempted coup. No one else is involved.”

  Green eyes clouded, like dirty glass. “That doesn’t mean much. I’m losing my pack, Marrok.”

  Because of him. She left that part unsaid, but it floated between them.

  “What now?”

  Tala grinned, though the deadly glint in her eyes made her smile more evil than humorous, and he frowned.

  “Now I’m going to kill them,” she said.

  He’d been right to be wary. At the same time, he understood. Any wolf who challenged an alpha knew the law. Win the challenge or die, or, if you were lucky, be exiled. But Tala had shown Sandalio mercy, and it bit her in the ass. Now she had something to prove to her people.

  Which meant he couldn’t help. Again. Already his wolf was growling at the thought of letting her fight on her own.

  “Get me back to the crash,” she said. “I need my things.”

  “Is your wolf going to maul me again?”

  She grimaced but gave the question due consideration. “I think,” she said slowly, “like when we fought Kaios together, she’ll be focused on the more immediate threat.”

  Marrok wasn’t as confident. “I’ll change first.”

  Tala chuckled. “Scared of poor little me?”

  “Damn straight.” He forced his body through the change and, once he was set, she did the same. As soon as she finished and focused on him, a low growl ripped from her, but she took off through the trees rather than attack, so he followed.

  While her wolf snarled at him any time he came in her line of sight, she kept going. They made it back to the scene of the crash to find not only Marrok’s forces, but many of Tala’s. She nodded at her people before moving to the back of the SUV. Shifting with only a small grunt at the end, no doubt more injured than she’d let on, she pulled out her suitcase and immediately stripped off her fancy blouse.

  Marrok, who also shifted, stepped between her and the others. Tala was his woman, his mate, and his to appreciate naked. No other man’s.

  She glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “This possessive streak is going to be a pain.”

  “Uh
-huh.” He grunted without moving.

  She snickered before turning back to her suitcase. After dressing in formfitting black pants and a matching tank top and strapping black boots to her feet, she wound the thin chain—the one Marrok knew intimately—around her slim waist. A wicked-looking halter holding a set of small knives went around her shoulders to be hidden under a leather vest. He didn’t see what else she stashed on her person, but, knowing Tala, she was loaded down with weapons of various kinds.

  “Why didn’t you do this earlier?” he asked.

  “No time.” She turned to face the gathering. “Follow me.”

  Retracing her original steps, she moved them off the road—where unsuspecting humans might cross their path at any second—and into a small clearing not visible from passersby. “When they come, I deal with them. Alone.”

  Tala cast a hard stare around those gathered. Every pair of eyes except his dropped before her gaze, unable to face her head on. They couldn’t when she was throwing off alpha vibes the way she was.

  “You can’t intervene.” That glare was aimed his way now.

  “I know,” he agreed softly.

  “I want your word.”

  That she would take his word told him some trust had been built, but hope couldn’t penetrate the fear for her life currently gripping his heart with razor-sharp talons. His mate was about to go up against six male wolf shifters on her own.

  “You have it.” His wolf, however, might not be as controlled.

  Chapter Twelve

  They didn’t have to wait long until the six wolves on her tail found her and Marrok’s return markers, and slunk into the clearing, hackles raised, teeth bared, regarding all gathered there with wary hate blazing from glowing eyes. The traitors knew they had no option but to challenge Tala openly, unable to deny being a part of the plot against her. Their scents were all over the car and the woods.

  Sandalio she recognized immediately. Hard not to. The remaining five included Dolph, Sandalio’s two sons and only grandson, and her cousin Connor, who came as a shock. She never would have guessed family opposed her. The heavy weight of sadness dragged at her heart because now she had to kill him. Kill her own blood.