Tieryn's Fury

by Abigail Owen

  Without words, everyone gathered into the groups they’d been assigned ahead of time, each with its own leader. Tieryn dusted herself off and took a swig of water, spitting it on the ground to wash out the layer of sand in her mouth. Apparently, she’d taste the mineral flavor of dirt the rest of the mission. Awesome.

  “Excuse me,” Gage murmured at her side.

  She didn’t say anything, occupied with checking her crossbow and getting ready for what was about to come. Satisfied her weapon was ready, she glanced up to find Gage had crossed to a different helicopter than the one they’d rode in, where a woman stood off to the side. She was striking—Hispanic with raven hair and dark exotic eyes, but surprisingly pale skin. Tieryn recognized her from the Kuharte meeting. She vaguely remembered maybe she was from Rick Delaney’s Dare in the Southwest US region but couldn’t remember her name. Whoever she was, based on her scowl and her emphatic gestures, she wasn’t happy with Gage.

  He didn’t appear too pleased, either. She’d never seen her childhood companion so agitated. After a long moment, the woman spun away and got back into the cockpit, slamming the door behind her. Gage watched her go before he turned and made his way back to Tieryn’s side.

  “What was that?”

  He shrugged. “That’s Rick Delaney’s daughter. She wants to go with us.”

  Tieryn raised her eyebrows. “Why can’t she?”

  “No skills. No powers. She’ll stay with the pilots.”

  “Oh.”

  Before she could say anything else, Jaxon moved to where everyone could see him and raised his hand for them to quiet. “All right, people. We have one shot at this. Everyone know their jobs?”

  Tieryn, along with the rest of those gathered, nodded.

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  They all started the hike across the rocky terrain. The pilots had landed about three miles out from the location that Neah had provided. They knew that they’d never sneak such a large force into what Neah had described as a medieval desert castle. The landscape gave them no hope of that. The lions would see them coming for miles. But that was the point. They wanted to draw as many of their enemy’s forces out of the castle as possible. Fighting in the open gave them better odds.

  Deliberately, Tieryn hung toward the back along with Gage, Shane, William and Dylan, Zac and Sarai. The attack didn’t come immediately, and it didn’t come from the castle itself, which they could see after walking only fifteen minutes. Instead, everything happened in one terrifying moment. They were walking in silence, everyone on guard, ready. In a blink, lions, wolves, grizzlies, and several other pack shifters surrounded them. Roars and screams filled the air with a cacophony of noise as the two forces collided.

  Shane placed a hand on her arm. He didn’t grab her, or hold her tightly, but she knew that he was protecting her nonetheless. Rather than engage, the small entourage she was with formed a tight circle.

  Neah appeared in the center in a blink. “Let’s go,” she called.

  Tieryn placed her hand on her shoulder. Gage stood behind her, his hand on hers. Shane beside her.

  She hadn’t been pleased when Jaxon had assigned both Gage and Shane to stick close to her. Gage she’d expected since he was her fiancé. Shane had been unexpected. She had to wonder if he’d requested the assignment, because she would have thought he’d object as well, but he hadn’t acted remotely surprised. She’d tipped up her chin and taken it like the grown up she was. If he got in her way, she’d shoot him in the leg with the crossbow.

  “On three,” Neah called. “One. Two. Three.”

  A sensation similar to what Shane described when he’d transported with her yanked at Tieryn’s neck, like being snagged by an invisible string. Not a pleasant sensation.

  In an instant, Tieryn found herself standing in a courtyard surrounded on all four sides by high walls, which appeared to be made of sand. Neah’s description had been accurate. The building reminded her of those ancient castle-like fortifications in Africa or the Middle East. Slim windows puckered the walls indicating at least three stories.

  A loud crack sounded from above, echoing against the building, and the wall close to Tieryn’s head burst in a puff of sandy dust. That was a bullet. She brought her crossbow up and searched for the source. A shadow on the roof was her only warning before a group of men appeared around all corners above them and started firing.

  Chaos erupted around her. A large, male hand on her head forced her into a crouch. At first she thought Shane was her protector, but a furious glance revealed Gage.

  “On me,” Neah shouted.

  The group who’d transported with her had one goal, get to the prisoners, and use Tieryn’s gift to get them all out. The other men with them, William and Dylan, laid down covering fire. Staying low, Tieryn followed her mother into a small side door off to the left.

  The walls of the building were thick, she could tell by the shape of the door, but also because the cacophony of gunfire hushed as soon as they were a few steps inside.

  “Everyone okay?” Zac called.

  All accounted for, they kept going. It took a few moments for her sight to clear as she moved from the blinding light outside into the dark recesses of the building. She blinked, focusing on her fiancé’s back as she stepped carefully, hoping she wouldn’t walk into anything.

  Neah led them to a set of narrow stairs that wound down into a black pit. Carefully they maneuvered the steps in single file. More than once, Tieryn scraped her crossbow against the wall. She grimaced and shifted the angle at which she held it. She couldn’t have said how deep underground they went. The chill to the air suggested decently far, and yet they kept going.

  Eventually they reached the bottom where they gathered. Someone flipped on a lighter, giving a tiny flicker of flame that battled against being consumed by the inky darkness. They crept along a corridor. Tieryn kept a hand on the wall to help guide her steps. She could tell by the gritty feel that the walls down here were also sand.

  Several turns in, and she had no idea where she was or if she’d be able to find her way back were she to get separated from the group. Not that Gage or Shane would let that happen. Gage insisted she have her hand on his arm, and Shane had a hand in the middle of her back.

  Neah paused at a door, and everyone waited as she tipped her head, concentrating.

  “Oyandone,” she hissed.

  Tieryn frowned. That’s not what Neah and George had called their brother earlier. They’d called him Odyn. Had Neah used his real name?

  “Neogah?” came the low rumble of a groan.

  “It’s me,” Neah said.

  “What’re you doing here?” He had to be drugged, because his words were heavily slurred.

  “I’m here to save your sorry ass. What do you think?”

  “You can’t be here. There’s a witch. If she gets you—”

  “Witches aren’t real, Odyn. Argue later.” Neah was quiet for a long moment before she glanced at Tieryn, concern pulling at her lips. “I can’t transport.”

  “What?”

  She shook her head. “It’s not working.” She knelt in front of the door holding her hands up to it.

  “What are you doing?” Gage asked.

  “Picking the lock.”

  He glanced at Tieryn, who shrugged.

  After a moment, the door swung open with a rusty creak. Neah poked her head in and visibly paled. “Let’s go.”

  William and Dylan moved inside and hoisted Odyn, who appeared to be as tall as Zac, but his frame was skin and bones, his skin sickly pale even in the low light. How long had he been trapped here?

  They kept going. The next few cells were empty then they found Paulla, the Seer. She was able to keep to her feet. Rafael was next, a few more down. Finally, they found Tieryn’s father. She threw her arms around him but only for a minute. Like Odyn, he was too weak to support himself. Zac moved to help Paul, which slowed them down. They hadn’t been discovered yet, but that made time even more precious
and they had yet to find Victor, the other Alpha captured.

  Tieryn’s stomach dropped with each empty cell they came across. Leaving him behind wasn’t right, but at the same time, they had to save whom they could. Neah had to pick each lock with whatever weird goddess method she was using, which took even more precious time.

  Finally, a shout was heard from a cell five or six down. They rushed over, and Neah fiddled with the lock until the door swung open. Before they could see who was inside, a blast of blue light erupted from the cell and nailed Neah in the chest throwing her backward and slamming her against the opposite wall. She crumpled to the floor, out cold.

  “Mom!” Tieryn screamed.

  The hallway was riddled with bullets and shifters. The air filled with the acrid smell of gun smoke and the mixed scents of different kinds of shifters. She tried to run to her mother, but a hand on her wrist jerked her to a stop. Shane.

  She glared at him. “Let me go. I have to get to her!”

  “Let Gage.”

  A swift check told her he was already out of his clothes and ready to lunge into the fray.

  The scream of a mountain lion ripped through the air as William, now in cat form, flew at one of the attackers. A mishmash of men, wolves, lions, mountain lions, and live fire burst around them. Tieryn didn’t pause to argue. Instead, she dropped to one knee and whipped her crossbow around to aim it.

  “I’ll cover you,” she called to Gage.

  Without waiting, she started firing. She nailed one wolf in the head, dropping it to the floor. The deafening pop, pop, pop above her head told her Shane had pulled out his pistol to cover their people as well. He dropped a wolf mid-leap, covering William’s backside. She vaguely registered Sarai beside them throwing her deadly knives with unerring accuracy.

  Gage managed to drag Neah’s unconscious form over to them. Tieryn, Shane, and Sarai kept firing, covering the others, as they made their way to the cell behind them. Checking inside, Shane seemed satisfied that whatever had hit Neah with that blast was gone. “In here!” he yelled.

  They hustled for cover, dragging Neah, Odyn, and Paul with them. In a mad leap, William’s form flew through the door. He shifted and took a post at the door with Shane and Gage, holding their attackers at bay as Dylan and Zac made their way back.

  Shane glanced over his shoulder. “Any ideas?”

  “Get someone to my brothers,” Odyn wheezed. “If we can get them down here, they can get us out.”

  A stray bullet ricocheted around the room, embedding in the wall.

  “I don’t think that’s an option,” Shane muttered.

  An insane idea flashed through Tieryn’s mind. “Shoot me.”

  “What?” Gage yelled. “Are you crazy?”

  A calm that came with absolute certainty settled over her. She knew this would work. Tieryn notched an arrow and fired, then turned back to them. “It’ll trigger my gift, and I can get us out of here.”

  Gage shook his head. “No.”

  But she wasn’t looking at him, she was looking at Shane. His tense stance, shoulders held so rigidly told her he was fighting the idea, but he hadn’t said no.

  “You know it’ll work,” she said.

  “No, I don’t.”

  But then he raised his gun and pointed it directly at her head.

  Before he could pull the trigger, she held up a hand. “Wait! How will you get back?”

  He smiled, and the same kick that always came with those smiles scored a direct hit to her heart. “Don’t worry about me,” he mouthed.

  She blanched. Leaving the man who was her Fated Mate went against every instinct in her powerful body. “Do it.”

  He nodded.

  “Everyone hold on,” she yelled. Hands reached out, touching her, touching Neah who remained in a crumpled heap on the floor.

  “Three.”

  Shane swallowed. “Two.”

  She pulled her shoulders back, ready. “One.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The nauseating feeling of being yanked through time and space pulled him into the whirlpool of sightless, noiseless travel. What the hell? He hadn’t been touching Tieryn.

  This leap didn’t last nearly as long as the others. In a matter of seconds, he slammed down in landing, his senses returning with an almost painful intensity. Tieryn lay beside him, out like a light, but otherwise unharmed. He sprang to his feet, assuming a crouched position, ready to act quickly. A scan of their surroundings revealed a large open suite with walls of pale sand and a terracotta tile flooring. The room sported a bedroom area, office area, and living area. Sheer, white curtains flapped at the windows, stirred by the dry, hot breeze.

  They were still in the damn castle.

  The faint bursts of gunfire confirmed they were. Damn good thing he’d insisted on being part of her escort. No way was he going to let her come into this without him there to protect her. Now he didn’t have time to worry about why they were still here, he needed to focus on getting them out. He couldn’t carry Tieryn like a sack of potatoes through hostile territory. Which meant he needed help.

  What he needed was a phone, a way to contact Andie. This building didn’t appear to have electricity let alone phone lines, which meant he needed to find a satellite phone. He hefted Tieryn into his arms and laid her atop the silk-covered bedspread. That taken care of, he checked the bed, the desk, the cushions of the couch. Finally, he looked in a standing armoire. He found a woman’s clothes, a gun, but no phone.

  “May I help you?” a velvety female voice laced with an accent he’d never heard stopped his search.

  He froze in the act of closing the doors to the armoire. Gun in hand, he carefully turned to face her and narrowed his eyes. In front of him stood the mocha-skinned woman they’d seen the day the Kuharte had been attacked.

  He gave her his most winning grin. “I’m trying to find a satellite phone.”

  “Got left behind, hmmm?”

  “Something like that.”

  “If you wouldn’t mind sitting down?” She indicated the couch.

  He hesitated. She didn’t appear armed. He could shoot her and get out of there. But part of him suspected this woman was key to everything that was happening to his people. Would her death end the war, or escalate it?

  Shane moved across the room and sat. He’d play this out. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Zula Sabina. I am the head lioness over all the prides of western Africa. And you?”

  “Shane Callahan. I don’t hold a position.”

  “A soldier then?”

  He sat back, affecting a casual pose. “Yes.”

  “Your people cost me a lot today,” she murmured almost conversationally as she took the armchair across from him. He caught the bitterness in her smile as she crossed her long legs.

  “Your people have cost ours a lot over the last several decades,” he remarked, equally conversationally.

  She inclined her head. “But then, we didn’t start all of this. Did we?’

  He frowned.

  “Had you shared your lands with us, allowed us to join you here, live side by side, none of this would have been necessary.” She flicked a hand to indicate the room and himself.

  “Do you mind explaining that?” Tieryn’s voice had both of them looking toward the bed to find her attempting to sit up.

  Shane relaxed a tiny bit as relief that he wouldn’t have to drag her unconscious body out of here rushed through him.

  “Ah, the mountain lion who can transport. I’ve been curious to meet you,” Zula said. “Why don’t you join us?” She waved toward the seat on the couch beside Shane.

  Tieryn stumbled a bit, clearly still pushing her way out of the dazed stupor her leaping caused, as she climbed out of bed and made her way to him. He wanted to go to her but had to keep his weapon on the lioness.

  “Thank you,” Tieryn said, as she took her seat. She tipped her head, openly staring at their adversary. “Would you mind explaining what you meant about
not being allowed to join us?”

  Zula’s lips flattened as she gave them a hard stare. “My father came here before I was born. Between famine, war, and human poaching not curtailed by law, our lands are no longer safe. We offered a truce and a partnership—we have access to resources in Africa that are worth a lot of money, such as diamonds—in exchange for the right to move our prides here. We were refused.”

  “First I’ve heard of it,” Shane muttered.

  She didn’t appear too concerned. “My father visited in person to try to negotiate and was murdered.” She said those words with no feeling, but he could still see the depth of her pain the set of her shoulders and the strain around her eyes.

  “By whom?”

  “Rick Delaney.”

  Damn. The Alpha of the Southwestern region of the US, and, from what Shane knew about the man, a true asshole. Hadn’t he been the same guy to push ending Tieryn and Gage’s engagement?

  “That’s when we decided to take the land,” Zula continued. “The wolves and some other shifters who aren’t fond of the mountain lion community were happy to help.”

  In other words, they’d already formed their partnerships when this went down. Shane could read between the lines.

  “So one man has led to the loss of life of hundreds of shifters over the years?” Tieryn asked. Her tone of voice and earnest expression said she wasn’t condemning those actions, more that she was truly trying to understand.

  He caught a flash, just a spark, of something—regret maybe?—in Zula’s eyes before she hardened. “Like I said. This never had to happen.”

  “What if we could stop it?” Tieryn asked.

  Was she trying to negotiate with this woman? Hadn’t the lions shown their willingness to do any and everything to get what they wanted?

  Zula tipped her head. “What do you mean?”

  “You wanted a partnership and the right to share our lands. Different people are in leadership now. While Rick Delaney still leads his Dare, I’m sure a deal can be reached with others.”