by Amelia Jade
“Jenny?” came the rushed question the instant he answered the phone. “Jenny are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said in a monotone. “Corey, why does my mother’s house look like something detonated inside it?”
A deep, thrumming sigh came through the phone, and it took her a moment to realize it was Corey, growling in anger. “Jenny you need to leave there. Right now.”
“What? What if my mother is in there?” she asked. She was starting to panic, and she knew it. The part of her brain that was closed off in a protective manner could see it happening, but she wasn’t able to do anything about it. It was just too much to handle. “I can’t just leave. I can’t. She needs my help!”
“Jenny.”
The voice that came through the phone was hard and unyielding. It not only was her name, but it called to her. Spoke to her. The rigid command tone reached into her soul and forced her to obey, in a way she had never experienced before. He hadn’t shouted, nor even raised his voice. But it compelled her.
“Yes?” she found herself replying.
“You need to leave. Right now. Put me on speaker phone.”
She complied, spinning the wheel and putting on speed. Even as she rumbled across the grass and down to the street, two large bears burst through the front door, charging after her vehicle.
“Corey, there are two shifters chasing after me,” she said, her voice panicky but clear.
“Go faster,” he urged.
She was already going faster than she felt comfortable with in a residential neighborhood. Looking in her rearview mirror she caught a glimpse of nothing but snarling teeth.
“Going,” she suddenly agreed, stomping her foot to the floor. The SUV leapt forward and she saw the shifter eat concrete as it lunged for her vehicle and missed. She crowed in victory, until they shifted back to human form and swiftly got in a big white pickup that roared to life.
“They have a truck,” she said, as if it was unfair.
“You need to get to me,” Corey said over the phone, his calming voice filling the entire cabin.
“Can’t you come to me?” she asked, wrenching the wheel left, taking the corner far faster than was meant.
“Unfortunately, that’s not as easy as it sounds.” He refused to elaborate, but he gave her directions to where he and the rest of the Jade Crew were waiting.
Behind her the truck flew into view, taking the corner so hard that it looked like it went up on to two wheels.
“Faster Jenny,” he urged.
Following Corey’s directions, she found herself heading through less populated parts of town. There were less stop signs and no stoplights to impede her progress. Minutes later she was flying up the mountain, having gained on her pursuers, though not by much. On long straightaways she still saw their headlights come into view before she took the next turn.
“Your next left,” Corey reminded her.
She saw the turn, and prepared to take it. The trees had grown in close, preventing her from noticing it until she was almost upon it. They grew over top of the road, enclosing it like a tunnel. It was a sharp turn, and she had to slow down or else she would probably flip her vehicle. In her rearview the truck came flashing into view, bearing down on her.
“They’re right behind me now!” she shouted at the phone as the truck careened around the corner, far faster than she had planned. The gap was less than fifty feet now, and they were closing.
“It’s okay,” Corey assured her.
She started to protest that no, it wasn’t okay. But before she could her truck shot out from under the canopy of trees and into a broad clearing. She saw numerous shifter trucks and several groups of shifters. Slamming on the brakes, she wrenched the wheel around and put two trucks between her and her pursuers. Hopping out of the vehicle, she saw Corey and ran toward him, all but throwing herself into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” he told her as the white truck eased its way into the clearing and slowed to a halt by another group of shifters.
“It’s okay now though, isn’t it?” she asked, confused. “You guys will protect me, right?” She looked around at Garrett and the others. There was a second group of shifters close by that she vaguely thought were familiar, but she didn’t recognize them. They didn’t seem hostile, however, so she let it go. When nobody answered, their faces looking like carved stone, she turned to look in the direction they were facing.
The third group of shifters that she had seen was facing them. It was led by a monstrous male who had to be the size of Garrett at least, if not bigger. But it wasn’t his stature that caught her eye, nor the group of angry shifters around him. It was the figure in front of him that she stared at in horror, which the big shifter had gripped tightly to its shoulder, forcing the figure to its knees.
It was her mother.
“What the fuck?” she shouted, rage filling her.
Jenny tried to take a step across the open distance between the two groups, but strong hands wrapped around her, holding her still. She beat at them, not knowing who it was, but desperate to free herself, to run across the intervening space and tell them to let her mother go. Despite the friction between them, despite the opposing worldviews, it was still her mother.
The hands around her held fast though, and she felt the comforting presence of Corey as his head nuzzled against hers, trying to calm her.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear. “I promise.”
Jenny sagged, and the arms that had been holding her back now held her upright. A sudden thought occurred to her, and despite her control, she giggled. Horrified at herself, Jenny clamped her hands over her mouth, trying to regain control.
“What was that for?” Corey asked suspiciously, letting go of her as Jenny got her legs back under her.
She shook her head. “I’m a terrible person. I was just thinking.”
“That…” Corey prompted when she didn’t immediately respond.
“That this is not going to do anything to improve my mother’s opinion of shifters.”
Corey snorted, doing a much better job of containing his laughter than she had. “Trust me, I wouldn’t exactly call those miscreants over there shifters. It gives us all a bad reputation,” he growled.
“What the hell happened?” she asked softly as the two groups of shifters stared at each other.
“I told them I had some information, and that I wanted to meet, exactly like they had discussed with me. Unfortunately, it turns out they had anticipated that I might pull something like this. I don’t know where they got that impression from, but they did. So they took her.” His voice dropped an octave as his rage flared incandescent, and he visibly trembled while restraining himself.
Jenny looked around, angry, terrified, and incredibly unsure of everything. Her world had quite literally exploded in the past few days. For this to happen on top of everything, she felt the illusion of her sanity beginning to crack under the pressure, shards of it raining down upon her.
The only thing keeping her together was the stillness of the gathering. She blinked suddenly, as if the thought had triggered something within her. “Why is everyone just standing around?” she asked, realizing now what had been bothering her. “This looks like an old-style Western shootout.”
Corey grimaced. “That’s kind of what it is. They tipped their hand when it came to the fact they were going to try and get you too. I guess they figured if I showed up alone, and got cold feet, they would use you against me. But now that they’re outnumbered and have shown their true intentions, they don’t know what to do. They can’t leave; we won’t let them. But we can’t attack either, not without risking injury to your mother.”
Jenny looked back and forth at him and Garrett, who was standing nearby, listening to everything. “Have you tried anything?” she asked.
Corey sort of shrugged, but Garrett replied, “No. We were more focused on getting you here safely.”
She nodded, and spun in place.
Chapter Eleven
Corey
“Jenny, wait!”
He dashed after her as she stalked across the open ground toward the Diamond Crew.
“What are you doing?” he asked, grabbing her by the shoulder.
“Initiating dialog,” she snapped, throwing off his shoulder. “I’m going to stay far enough away that you’d get to me before them, but also close enough to talk to them. I’m not a threat, they know that. I’m basically the only person who can try this,” she told him.
He froze, blindsided by the intelligence of his mate once more. She was right. Jenny was the only one who could approach them to try and find a peaceful solution. If any of them went in her place, the Diamonds would certainly view them as a threat, and act appropriately. But Jenny was a human. She had nothing but words.
She hadn’t paused and now her angry paces brought her closer to the Diamond Crew as he watched. This was not the way he had imagined things going down. Frustrated and feeling impotent, he watched as she walked into the middle of the clearing. He ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the strands as he fought the warring urges within him.
Part of him said to trust her and give her the benefit of the doubt, and to be ready, like she said. But his bear was a different matter. The beast inside of him raged and pawed at the walls of his mind, wanting nothing more than to be set free among those who would dare threaten his mate.
Garrett stepped up next to him.
“Is this how you felt?” he asked hoarsely, pain filling his every word.
A big paw of a hand landed on his other shoulder. “It will be okay,” Ajax rumbled. He was the Alpha of the Emerald Crew. Their former enemies were now the staunchest allies of the Jade Crew. On either side of Corey the two crews lined up—more than a dozen of the toughest shifters in the Valley stood with him.
Before them were a double handful of the most highly vaunted shifters. They were the closest thing most of the shifters had to role models. The Diamond Crew had long been held up as the standard that they all should strive for. Perfect in every way. Better than the rest.
Nobody had seen the evil creeping in that had slowly infused them with the thought that they were better than everyone. Not just at their jobs, but their status in life. As if they were pure bloods to the common-born rabble that now stood arrayed against them. Corey had seen it coming, and had been tossed from their midst for his differing opinions. But even he had never expected it to come to this point.
They had allied themselves with the evil that infected the Valley and had subjugated themselves to its rule in return for who knew what sort of sick, twisted privileges. Corey felt his lip pull back in a snarl as he realized how perfect of a cover they had had in place. Who knew for how long the Diamonds had acted as intermediaries, feeding information to their masters?
“How could we have been so blind?” he muttered aloud.
“They fooled us all,” Ajax agreed solemnly. “But no more. They have been exposed. We must end them and their threat.”
Corey was caught off guard by the finality of that statement. He had known what it would come down to, but part of him had refused to accept it, had refused to believe that the ending of the entire Diamond Crew was the only acceptable solution. But now he realized that it wasn’t an acceptable solution, but it was the only solution. They couldn’t be allowed to go free. They were corrupt, and they had broken the rules, and had threatened not one, but two humans.
“We can’t let them hurt Jenny or her mother,” he said, making it clear he would not accept any other alternative. It would be bad enough that there would be ten less shifters in the world by the end of the day. He would not have a human death on his hands.
“Of course,” Garrett told him.
They watched in silence as Jenny stopped, planting her feet and putting her arms on her hips.
“Let her go,” she said, loud enough for both sides to hear.
“Okay,” Michael, the leader of the Diamonds, replied easily.
Jenny flinched, clearly not expecting the answer.
“But only if you’re taking her place,” he sneered.
Corey stiffened. “No,” he growled. He knew what she would say.
“Done,” Jenny replied. “Now let her go.”
Travis rolled his eyes, speaking before his leader could. “Come over here then.”
Jenny barked a laugh. Corey wasn’t sure if he or the Diamonds were more surprised at her strength of character. He had never mistaken Jenny for weak, but this situation was something that was completely beyond anything she had ever been exposed to before. He admired her more for the way she was handling it.
“I fucking love her,” he said softly, but loud enough that those near him could hear.
She spoke again. “I’m not an idiot. We’ll make a trade.” Without looking back at him, Jenny crooked her finger. It was clear she wanted Corey to approach.
Steeling himself, he strode forward. Every set of eyes in the group of shifters swiveled to watch him as he closed the distance between himself and his mate with rapid ease.
“What are you doing?” he asked angrily as he approached. “I’m not letting you trade yourself.”
“Okay,” she shouted to the others, ignoring him. “Send over my mother and him,” she said, pointing at Travis.
She turned to face him, pulling out her phone. On it, she typed the words. Can you handle him?
Corey felt himself fall even more in love with her right then. Not only had she come up with a plan, but she had known not to say it because they might have heard her.
“I love you,” he said, giving her a miniscule nod, before gathering her up in a big hug. He turned as he did, putting his back to the approaching duo. His hands, wrapped around Jenny’s ample middle, flashed a couple of quick hand signs to his crew, before he completed the spin.
“Hello, Travis,” Corey said vehemently as they approached. He looked at Jenny’s mother. The poor woman wasn’t responding, wasn’t reacting. In fact, she looked as if she were catatonic. “What did you do to her?” he snarled.
“Nothing,” the other shifter said in exasperation. “She went like this almost as soon as we got her. We didn’t do a damn thing,” he repeated.
“Mother?” Jenny said slowly.
“Jennifer?” came the strangled reply. “Is that you?”
“It’s me, Mom. It’s going to be okay now.”
The other woman didn’t respond, her eyes glazing over again.
“Let her go,” Jenny said, opening her arms.
Roughly Travis shoved the other woman toward them. Jenny embraced her in a hug.
Corey swallowed hard, preparing himself. Travis was a lot bigger than he was. Corey was probably faster, but right now, he wasn’t sure if that would be enough. He would get the first blow in, but it was going to be a lot closer than he would prefer. Garrett, Ajax, and the others would need to move quickly.
He readied his bear, filling it in on the plan, letting it know what he would need from it.
“Jenny?” he asked, his voice decidedly calmer than it sounded.
“I don’t know,” came the reply as she tried to wake her mother up. In the state she was in now, there was no way the woman could run. Jenny would have to carry her.
“Remember that first time I kissed you? In the park?” he asked, hoping she would get the reference, while Travis would think he was saying something sentimental as a goodbye.
“You can’t be serious,” she replied. “You’re bringing that up now?” There was just the slightest pause before she said “now,” enough to make it clear she was asking permission.
“Now,” he confirmed, and launched into motion.
Flinging his body forward, he stretched out his arms in front of him, moving to plant them directly in Travis’s ribcage. As his limbs jutted forward, golden-brown fur exploded from them and everywhere else. Muscles shifted and expanded exponentially in a fraction of a second. His face shifted, the flatness disappe
aring as the snout of his angry bear poked through. Hands became paws and his body size doubled in proportion, then doubled again.
Whereas when he first started moving he was lunging forward with both hands, by the time he actually hit Travis, his bear had erupted from within. A huge, snarling angry mass of bear hit Travis like it was shot out of a cannon.
Unfortunately, the other shifter had reacted faster than expected, obviously having understood that something was going on between them. Instead of barreling into an unsuspecting target, Corey hit a wall that was rapidly shifting from straw to steel. He still took Travis down, but by the time they landed, a much larger, much angrier-looking bear was pinned beneath him, massive paws ripping at his underside.
Corey trumpeted in pain, swinging one of his own paws like a club, sending it into the side of Travis’s head. This stunned the other shifter for a moment and Corey leaped off, delivering a sharp raking of his claws as he went. They dug deep furrows into Travis’s underbelly as well, but overall he knew the Diamond had gotten the better of the exchange.
The other bear righted himself, tensing his hind legs. Corey prepared himself for an attack that never came. It was only at the last second that he realized Travis wasn’t going to come after him.
Idiot!
He screamed at himself, launching himself forward in pursuit of Travis. It was his own fault. After jumping off the other bear, Corey had stupidly put himself on the far side of Travis from Jenny and her mother. Jenny was struggling to reach the charging line of bear shifters, but her mother was neither trim nor able-bodied at the moment.
Travis had noticed this and was intent on charging them down. That was his mistake, however. Corey wasn’t the strongest bear, but he had never been bested in a speed competition before.
A flash of golden-brown tore across the clearing, paws digging deep and churning up a wake of gravel and dirt behind him as he gave it everything he had, moving faster than he ever had before, desperate to close the gap in time.
