by R. E. Butler
Her mouth turned up at the corner for a moment, and then her eyes glistened as tears pooled in the green depths. “I just want our family back.”
“Me, too, sweetheart,” he said, kissing her forehead and wrapping both arms around her.
“Tighter, Dom,” she whispered thickly. “Hold me tighter.”
He did as she asked, feeling like he was holding himself together at the same time. Henry had at one time headed into the woods to save Dom’s life. They hadn’t even known each other then, but the bond that had formed from that action was deep. Henry was his brother, in every sense of the word, and Ehrin’s other mate. No matter what, Henry had to come home safe or their family would never be whole. Dom didn’t want to face a future without his brother by his side.
* * *
Henry woke to the sound of muffled talking. His head ached, and his vision was blurry. At first he wasn’t sure where he was, but then the bait-and-switch ambush on the roadside came rushing back. He forced himself to relax, keeping as still as possible while he opened his senses and tried to get as much information about his surroundings as he could. His hands were bound behind his back with rough rope, as were his feet. When his vision cleared after several moments of rapid blinking, he saw that he was on the floor, facing a wall made of wooden slats. His cheek pressed against the wood floor and he inhaled, sorting through the multitude of scents and picking up remnants of old hay, animals, dirt, and grease. Because he’d spent time on Rhett’s farm, he was pretty sure he was in an old barn.
The voices became clearer as he listened, though he recognized only one voice – Ehrin’s father.
“I don’t like this at all,” her father said. “You said you would persuade her to come back to the nest. You didn’t say anything about abducting the young male.”
A rough voice spoke, and Henry thought it might be the alpha hawk because there was authority in his voice. “Your daughter is too stubborn for her own good. I would’ve been willing to leave the beasts alone if she had come back to the nest in the first place. She shunned you and ignored a direct order from me. Drastic measures were necessary.”
“But he’s a police officer,” her father said. “This is straying into illegal territory. We’re not just holding a male captive to get Ehrin to come home. You’ve abducted a cop. There are ramifications to that beyond anything I can even comprehend.”
The alpha scoffed. “He’ll be returned unharmed once she’s back with her people.”
Another male spoke, his voice a little deeper and angrier. “And I’ll ensure that she’ll pay for her disobedience.”
“What do you mean?” her father demanded.
“That’s not your concern,” the second male said. “I’ll mark and mate her, and bring her under control one way or another. I won’t tolerate disobedience in my home.”
Henry’s cat bristled at the callous way the male spoke about Ehrin. He figured it must be the male her alpha had tried to mate her with, the one who had demanded she get a hysterectomy before he’d mate her.
Ehrin’s father and the male began to argue, but the alpha stopped it with a piercing call from his hawk. The sound made Henry’s already aching head feel as if it were going to split apart.
“Enough!” the alpha said. “It’s time to call the girl.”
Henry closed his eyes and calmed his flying pulse. He knew he needed to get free of the bindings, then he could keep Ehrin from having to show up and confront her people. They were clearly willing to do anything and everything possible to get her to return to their nest. He’d been so focused on her safety that he hadn’t taken proper precautions with his own, a mistake he wouldn’t make again.
He rubbed his wrists together, the rope biting into his flesh as he silently struggled to free himself. He couldn’t shift while he was bound, and the easiest way to attack the hawks was in his shifted form. While he worked to free his hands, he listened intently as the alpha made a call to Ehrin. The call was put on speaker, and Henry heard the tinny ringing until his mate’s sweet voice came over the line.
“Henry?”
The alpha snorted. “No. But I have him.”
“Let him go, please! He didn’t do anything to you,” Ehrin said, her voice thick with tears and hitching as she struggled to speak.
“Of course he did,” the alpha said. “He convinced you that you were free to make your own choices. Your life is not yours, it is the property of the nest. If you want to see the beast alive again, you’ll come to us immediately. I’ll text you the location.”
“Please don’t hurt my mate. I’ll come to you. I’ll do whatever you want if you just let Henry go.”
“Of course I’ll release him, once you’re safely back in the nest,” the alpha said. Henry could hear the lie in his voice. If he didn’t escape on his own, he’d die at the alpha’s hand, and he couldn’t help his mate if he was dead.
He reached for his cat and partially shifted, his fangs descending and his claws erupting from his fingertips. Curling his thumbs toward the bindings, he pulled at the rope, breaking the strands and weakening it.
A booted foot kicked his shoulder, and he rolled onto his back with a grunt as the foot came down hard on his chest. A male with a grimace and a vicious look in his eyes stared down at Henry as he leaned forward, shifting his weight onto his foot. Henry felt like his ribs were going to crack under the pressure. He was unable to think about anything else as his whole body focused on the pain in his chest and his lungs began to burn.
“She’s mine,” the male said. “I’ll burn those scars off her neck and beat her within an inch of her life. She’ll spend her days on her knees and her nights on her back. I’ll remember this moment as the one where I killed the pretender to my female. You can go to the afterlife knowing you failed in the most basic male activity – protecting helpless females.”
Henry’s lungs burned as he gasped for breath, and his vision winked out. His cat roared in rage, desperate to save Ehrin from the vile male who would use and abuse her. He heard a cracking sound and felt a terrible pain radiate from his chest.
He didn’t want to fail.
He couldn’t.
Chapter 16
Ehrin stared at the phone as the line went dead, her alpha’s words ringing in her ears. She knew Henry wouldn’t survive even if she went back to the nest with them. The alpha would kill Henry as soon as Ehrin was with them, and she’d carry the burden of his death with her forever.
The SUV pulled to the side of the road abruptly.
“This is the address,” James said.
Everyone piled out and joined up with the others.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Ehrin said.
“Some shift, some stay human,” James said. “The best way to help Henry is to keep the element of surprise. They don’t know we know where they are yet.”
Ehrin squinted into the dark, hoping to see something, but there was nothing except more darkness. Closing her eyes, she reached for the connection to Henry, but she couldn’t feel anything. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but nothing wasn’t it.
Dom gave her a little shake and she turned her attention to him. “Shift, sweetheart. I’ll follow you.”
Nodding, she stripped swiftly and willed her bird to the forefront of her mind, changing forms and stretching out her wings. Her senses opened and she could hear very faint talking on the wind. Beside her, Dom had taken his albino panther form. He nudged her wing with his nose, snuffled at her, then yowled softly.
Not wanting to draw attention to their whereabouts, she rose silently into the sky, circling over the pride. Ethan and James had stayed human, but everyone else had shifted. There were mountain lions and a large bear moving into the field, and Dom’s white panther was noticeable even in the darkness. Ethan carried his EMT bag, and James had his gun at his side.
She flew up into the sky. As she leveled out, she focused on the field before her and was able to see a faint light in the distance. As she stared, sh
e could make out the outline of a building where the light was coming from. She knew in her heart that Henry was there, and so were the hawks.
It was tempting to let out a war cry, but stealth was of the utmost importance. They might kill Henry if they thought they were found out, and she’d never forgive herself if he died because of her.
Be safe, Henry.
I’m coming for you.
* * *
With the last bit of consciousness and strength he possessed, Henry swung his bound legs up and over, knocking the male off his feet. Henry gasped in a deep breath that hurt as badly as if he’d inhaled acid along with the oxygen. He nearly blacked out from the pain, but he knew he couldn’t lose consciousness. Willing his cat to the forefront, he rose to his knees and roared as his claws cut through the final strands of the rope and he shifted.
The male on the ground jumped to his feet, but Henry knocked him down, landing on him with his claws flexed and burying them deeply in his flesh. The male screamed in fear, pushing at Henry and struggling to get away, but Henry wasn’t giving up. This was the male who had tried to kill him and planned to harm Ehrin. He’d never killed before, but he would now. For his mate. For their family. For their future.
Lunging forward, he sank his fangs into the side of the male’s throat so deeply that he heard the scratch of tooth on bone, and then he ripped the chunk of flesh away, tossing it to the floor. Blood sprayed in an arc as the male’s hands flopped uselessly on his neck, unable to stem the tide of life’s blood that poured from him.
Henry turned to the others and roared, every ounce of possessiveness and protectiveness for his mate filling his voice. They’d tried to harm her.
They’d pay.
* * *
Dom heard the cat’s war cry and knew it was Henry. He raced faster, his paws eating up the distance to the barn and the pale light within that had been like a beacon once he’d taken his shifted form. As a human, he hadn’t been able to see the barn at all, but once he’d become a panther, it had appeared as if a veil had been lifted.
Ehrin dove down toward the barn as Dom lunged at the closed double doors, all his weight landing on them. They opened, whatever had been used to hold them closed splintering with the force of his hit. He skidded across the wooden floor until his claws caught purchase, bringing him to a halt. A group of males had surrounded Henry in his shifted form, and several hawks were in their shifts, attacking him from above. Dom dove into the fray, clawing and biting his way to his brother. Behind him, the pride followed, the attacking cats led by Jericho in his enormous bear shift. Ehrin screeched as she dove for their attackers, and a hawk rose to meet her, deadly talons curled for a fight. They collided in a burst of feathers, clawing and grappling at each other. Dom wanted to help, but they were too high in the air.
Jericho bellowed and rose onto his haunches, batting a hawk out of the air and slamming it into the ground. Bones crunched as he dropped onto his paws and flattened the creature under his weight. Dom went after males in their human form, and he nearly lost an eye to a knife that he hadn’t noticed one of the hawks wielding. It sliced into his cheek, and he snarled and leaped onto the male, slashing with his claws and grasping his throat, giving him a mighty shake with his head and snapping his neck.
Ehrin dropped out of the air and landed on the ground, a wing hanging at an odd angle. The male who had attacked her dove down, his wings tucked at his back as he screamed through the air. Dom and Henry both ran for her at the same time, covering her with their bodies to take the brunt of the attack from the male.
Before the hawk could reach them, another hawk rose up from the ground and met him in midair. They attacked each other in a flurry of talons and screeches, tumbling out of the barn and into the field. Dom lifted from his protective crouch and nuzzled Ehrin’s head. She made a soft, pained cry, and it echoed through the barn, which he realized had gone eerily silent.
He looked to the pride and found them the last ones standing. Dead hawks in human and shifted form littered the floor.
Dom returned to his human form and Henry followed suit, swaying on his knees before regaining his balance. He and Dom hugged briefly.
“Thanks for coming for me,” Henry said.
“You won’t believe how we found you,” Dom said. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Henry looked down at Ehrin. “Sweetheart, can you shift? It’ll help your wing heal.”
Dom carefully helped her to her feet, her talons digging into the wood floor. She whimpered, which was an oddly human sound coming out of her beak, and then she began to shift. It seemed to be a struggle at first, her feathers disappearing and reappearing as she made pained sounds. As her bird body was eclipsed by her human form, there was a cracking sound of the wing being made whole and she cried out sharply, dropping to her hands and knees as she became entirely human. Blood streaked her skin, but as Dom and Henry checked her over for injuries, they realized the blood was from wounds that were now closed.
She hugged them both, kissing first Dom and then Henry.
“I thought I’d lost you, Henry,” she said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now that you’re with me and those assholes are dead.”
She looked past them to the birds, slowly rising to her feet and walking to them. She seemed to be searching.
“The alpha isn’t here. Or my father.”
“Ehrin,” James called out. “Hurry.”
Dom and Henry joined her and they rushed outside. The sun was starting to come up, and it bathed the field in the palest golden light. It was enough for them to see that there was one dead hawk and one male lying on the ground. Dom recognized the male as her father, who was bleeding heavily and clearly dying.
The pride surrounded the male and made room for Ehrin, Dom, and Henry.
“Oh no,” Ehrin said, dropping to her knees. “Dad? Shift so you can heal.”
He wheezed, lifting his head slightly and fixing his pain-filled gaze on her. “Too much injury. Dying.”
“I…I don’t want you to die,” she whispered.
“S-sorry,” he said, dropping his head to the dirt. “Didn’t know alpha’s plans.”
“Where’s Mom? Is she okay?”
“Sent home. Tell her…sorry. I lo–.” His words cut off with a gurgle, blood spilling out of the corners of his mouth. His eyes closed and he uttered a final breath, his body relaxing as he died.
Ehrin sobbed.
Dom and Henry knelt next to her, each putting an arm around her as she cried over her father. He was a bastard, but he’d saved her life in the end. The dead alpha by his side was proof that, although he’d made mistakes, he’d eventually done the right thing and protected his daughter.
James and John returned to their vehicle after explaining that they were going to alert the local police to the outcome. Dom wasn’t worried about any of them being held accountable for the deaths. The hawks had attacked first, and although humans didn’t often understand everything about shifters, there were laws in place to protect those who were attacked or placed in danger. The police would interview them all, and he was certain the outcome would be in their favor. Which was one less thing for Ehrin to worry about.
Ethan cleared his throat and held out clothing. “The police will be here soon, I’m sure, and you probably don’t want to be naked. I need to check you out, too.”
“I’m fine,” Henry said as he took a pair of pants from Ethan.
“Humor me.”
Henry grumbled as he stood and tugged the pants on. Ehrin and Dom dressed quickly. While Ethan looked over Henry, Eryx asked Ehrin to identify the bodies, since many were in their shifts.
She looked down at her father and then at the hawk next to him. “That’s the alpha. He was diving for me. He was going to kill me. My dad swooped up out of nowhere and took him out here where he killed him. It cost him his life to save me, though.”
“I’m sorry for all the death,” Eryx said, “but don’t feel guilty abo
ut this. You didn’t do anything wrong, and they did everything wrong.”
“I know. It doesn’t make the deaths any less gruesome.”
“Are you okay to do this now?” Dom asked.
“Yeah. I need to see who was here for my own peace of mind.”
When Henry was released from Ethan’s care, he joined them as they walked into the barn. Ehrin identified every hawk, those in shifts and those in human form.
“This is him,” she said, looking down at one hawk. “Calvin wanted to sterilize me.”
“He tried to kill me,” Henry said. “I was able to knock him off and shift, and then you showed up, for which I’m eternally grateful. I did overhear your father say that he didn’t know what the alpha’s plans were. He was here with them, but I got the impression that he wasn’t okay with them taking me or what the male’s plans for you were.”
“Not good, I’m sure,” she said, shuddering.
Eryx took notes, interviewing Ehrin and then Henry. Dom gave his statement as well, and then the three of them left Eryx in the barn and walked toward the SUVs.
“You’re free now, sweetheart,” Henry said. “Truly free.”
“I know. It’s strange because at the moment, I still kind of hate my father, but the last thing he did for me was save my life. Maybe I shouldn’t hate him anymore.”
“Your feelings aren’t wrong,” Dom said. “He did some awful things in the name of the nest, and he didn’t stand up for you until the very end. I’m thankful he did, though, and that his last act on this earth was saving you.”
“He tried to make things right,” she said.
“And we’re all alive and safe because of it,” Henry said.
“I’ll need to call my mom. I’ve never told someone their mate was dead before.”
“Would you like to go see her and do it in person?” Dom offered.
They stopped at the SUVs. In the distance, he could see the flashing red and blue lights of the police officers on their way to the field.
