"I don't see shit," Jack said, "but I'll trust you. Whatever. So rip that abomination out and sterilize her."
Pregnant. With Abel's baby. It should have been the best news of her life, but instead her throat turned to sand, and she started to scream. Tears streamed down her eyes in thick torrents.
Jack took a piece of cloth and rammed it down her mouth, stifling her. Still she cried and moaned into the cloth.
Save me, Abel! Save our baby. Please, please, I don't have time. I need you now!
Dr. Tanner mumbled, almost to himself rather than to Jack, "Well, boss man told me to check with him personally if there were any pregnancies."
"How big is that thing?" Jack asked, "a few cells? Just get rid of it, I won't tell anyone."
"I owe you, Jack," Dr. Tanner said, "but not enough to defy our boss. You'll have to wait until I ask him, and he's with his favorite toy right now. It will have to wait until morning."
Jack grabbed a tray of instruments and threw it across the floor. "God dammit! You still owe me then!"
Jack was red-faced and panting, and he looked at Effie with fury in his eyes. He squeezed her cheeks and rasped into her face, "You'll get it from me twice as hard now for this!"
And he stormed out.
Jesus. Effie cried still, and Dr. Tanner removed the gag, then began unbuckling her.
"I recommend you don't eat anything for breakfast," Dr. Tanner said, "after the abortion, I'll perform the sterilization straight away. Seems you're incredibly fertile, so we wouldn't want you getting pregnant again, now would we?"
Effie gritted her teeth and wiped tears from her eyes. She wouldn't speak to this man. She'd never see him again. She'd run away tomorrow, assuming Abel didn't rescue her even before that. This was all going to end soon. She'd be with Abel again soon. She had to be. For the sake of their child.
"You know the way back to your room?"
"Yes," Effie said, not looking at him.
"Well then, off with you! I need to clean up."
Effie went back to her room, and a guard locked her in. She curled into a ball on her bed, as if protecting her unborn child, and fell asleep immediately.
***
A loud knock woke her, and she jolted awake. Everything came back to her in a flash. Her baby, the escape, and Jack. She thought of what would happen if the plan didn't work, then stopped herself. She couldn't let that happen, she would escape.
Effie was brought out to the hallway, back into the line of naked women. They were shuffled down the hall, in the opposite direction of the shower, and when the door swung open, sunlight flooded the corridor. She shielded her eyes with her hands. The sun was so bright, and it felt like she hadn't seen it in ages; like she'd never see it again.
The sun warmed her skin as she stepped outside, and it filled her with hope. It was still just the crack of dawn, but it seemed brighter and warmer than ever. She would be gone from this awful place soon enough. She wouldn't be one of the women who got caught, and those that were...Derrick would succeed. They'd all be safe. All she had to do now was convince the rest.
She scanned the women's faces, and she recognized Caitlyn. She needed to convince another woman first, to help get the rest on board. As soon as the guard passed out, she'd have minutes—if she was lucky—to convince all the women and to get them running. Was Caitlyn the right woman to convince first?
Caitlyn looked down away from the sun as she started to stretch her arms. She yawned lazily, and deep circles hung under her baggy eyes. She looked so defeated, so empty. No...she wasn't the right one.
Effie looked further, and saw a woman doing jumping jacks. Her back was straight, and she clapped her hands together with each jump. Her ponytailed flapped up and down, and after ten jumping jacks she dropped to the ground and began doing pushups with perfect form. Her. She was the one.
Effie walked toward her, eyes on the guard. The guard was someone she didn't recognize. He was lanky and wiry, and looked like a coiled snake. He took a big sip of a steaming cup of coffee, and he looked with sharp eyes across the women exercising. Occasionally his eyes stopped to leer at certain women, but for the most part he was vigilant and taking his guard duties seriously. Was the coffee drugged? How much would he need to drink before it took effect? How long did Effie have?
She noticed some women talking to each other as they exercised. Maybe this guard, like Derrick, didn't care if they spoke to each other, or maybe this was one time they were allowed to speak.
"Hey," Effie said to the woman as she finished her tenth pushup.
"What?" the woman said. "Leave me alone."
She started her next set of jumping jacks, but Effie didn't leave her alone. She spoke in a low voice as the woman jumped. A loud clap punctuated each jump and drowned out Effie's voice.
"You haven't been broken yet," Effie said, "I can see that."
The woman finished her jumping jacks and stared at Effie, probing her with her eyes. "So what?"
"So you still have hope?" Effie asked.
The woman grunted and looked away.
"I have someone I love outside," Effie said. "That's why I still have hope."
"I have a kid," the woman said, "I promised myself when she was born that I'd never give up on her. I didn't think that this would happen to me, but a promise is a promise."
Effie looked toward the guard, and she saw his eyelids drooping. She stared at him, watching for another sign. His head started to sag, then he jolted himself back up. He looked alert for a moment or two more, and then his head sagged down completely.
"Look," Effie said, in the faintest hint of a whisper, "the guard is drugged."
The woman turned to look at him, and she looked back at Effie, astonished.
Effie continued, "You've held onto some hint of hope. You've waited for a chance, and this is it."
"We won't get away," the woman said. "Maybe a few thousand feet before the others caught up to us."
"No," Effie said, "we won't all make it, but if we split up, some of us will. Help me convince everyone else, and fast. If we draw enough of them out, Derrick is going to kill the rest. Only if we draw them out though. We have to go now, before they notice that guard is passed out."
Effie saw the woman's face strain with deliberation. He eyes flickered, and her brow furrowed as she thought. Seconds later she said just one word, shoving Effie away from her. "Go!"
The woman grabbed two others by the arm and began whispering, and Effie did the same. Effie convinced two more women, and they too went off to tell the others.
Within less than a minute, all the women were looking at Effie, waiting for a signal.
Effie's heart pulsed. It thrummed in her chest, and adrenaline lit her blood on fire. She thought of what to say, a final parting word for the woman, some of whom would surely be dragged back. Some may even be killed.
There was no word louder than an action. So Effie simply nodded to them all, and she broke into a sprint, running naked and barefoot into the forest.
The jumping-jack woman sprinted ahead just moments after Effie, but in the opposite direction, as if to remind all the woman to scatter.
Effie risked a look back, and she saw women running in all directions, naked brown and white and black skin all disappearing into the woods. Invisible already to Effie, but their scents would light up like trails of fire to the shifters. How long until they would pursue? Maybe they were already rushing after the fleeing women.
Effie redoubled her focus ahead. Twigs and rocks sliced at Effie's feet, but still she ran. She had to jump over fallen branches and logs, and duck under low-hanging leaves, but still she dared not slow down. Her lungs were on fire as she panted, but she ran as fast as her body allowed. All sense of time was gone: she may have been running for ten minutes, or maybe not even a minute. She had no idea. The rhythmic pulse of blood in her ears was her only clock, each tick bringing her closer and closer to freedom.
She heard a cry, and in the distance she saw a woman r
unning. Effie turned away from her, to separate their paths as much as possible. She heard a growl, and when she looked back she saw a panther pounce, and the woman toppled over.
Effie did not look back again. She only ran faster. The shifters were on them, but each step she took made it less likely she'd be caught. They couldn't catch everyone.
Effie's body soon began to give out, and she could only maintain a hurried jog. She'd run until she collapsed if necessary, but now distance was more important than speed, so she had to slow down. She was out of immediate danger, but she needed to buy as many miles between herself and the shifters' compound as possible. Once they realized Derrick had started his coup, catching a few stray playthings would become a low priority.
She jogged for at least ten more minutes, and her throat was dry while her body was drenched with sweat. She reached a small stream, and she collapsed on her knees in front of it. She threw handfuls of water into her face, rinsing away dirt and sweat and grime. Then she spent a few moments watching the stream to see if it was flowing. She didn't want to risk drinking still water, but seeing the meek flow of the water was enough to convince her in her frenzied and parched state, so she took another handful of water and drank eagerly.
She'd rest for one, maybe two minutes, then continue on. Then she got the idea to rinse her whole body in the stream. To kill her trail. She could wash her scent away and make it harder for the shifters to track her.
The stream was shallow, but she stepped in and frigid water reached her ankles. She laid down into the water, and the cold sucked the breath out of her. Quickly she scrubbed at her body, scratching with her nails to remove as much human scent as possible. She dunked her head under and ran her hands through her hair. She ran out of breath and decided to take a big breath before diving back under to scrub more, but when she pulled her head from the water, a jackal stood on a log in front of her.
She screamed and fell out of the water onto her back. The jackal lept off the log and prowled up in front of her. It looked up at at her with hate-filled eyes. She could get up and run, but that would mean turning her back on it. No...there was nothing she could do. It was over. Her best hope was to let Jack—and she was nearly certain it was Jack—drag her back alive, hoping Derrick had won. That he’d keep his word: kill Jack and let her free.
The Jackal stood up on its hind legs, and in moments shifted back into naked human form. She had held onto slip hope that just maybe it was another shifter, someone other than Jack, but Jack’s horrible face grinned down at her.
"I don't give two fucks if you're pregnant or what my boss says," Jack said, "looks like it's just you and me alone in the woods. I'm taking what's mine, and now I'm going to come at you three times as hard. Punishment for this little escape attempt.”
He grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her onto her knees, and Effie braced herself for the worst. For the unthinkable.
But nothing happened, and then Jack's hands left her waist.
"Iosef?" He shouted into the air. "Is that you?"
Effie looked back and saw Jack sniffing at the air. He spun around and stared up at the treetops.
Then a dragon's silhouette coasted in front of the sun. It was dark black, its wings motionless, like a paper cutout being dragged across the sky. When it was directly above them, it suddenly changed shape, and the wings pulled back.
"Fuck!" Jack yelled, turning his back to Effie and running. He shifted back into a jackal and scurried away on all fours. The dragon flew past him and cut him off, the dove straight for the ground. Jack spun around and rushed back toward Effie, but before he could reach her, a pillar of flame blocked his path. When the flames cleared, Effie saw the dragon passing directly over the cowering jackal, and a big grizzly bear—Effie's big grizzly bear—leapt off the dragon's back and mauled Jack. Effie turned her face away as she saw the first of the blood, but when she looked back, Abel was human again and walking naked and beautiful toward her.
Alex shifted back to human form, and a satchel dropped to the ground beside him. He pulled a phone out and held it to his ear.
He flashed them a thumbs up, "All the women are safe. Some kind of coup at the compound. We're going to attack while they're fighting among themselves. You with us, Abel?"
"No," Abel said, "Get Iosef for me. But I'm never leaving Effie's side again."
Alex nodded. "I don't blame you. Invite me to the wedding, will you?"
Abel laughed and said, "Of course, partner."
Alex shifted and flew away in a gust of wind.
Though her legs were raw and sore, she ran to Abel with her arms wide. She jumped up onto him, wrapping her legs around him. She wasn't able to shift into an animal, but her raw longing for her mate in that moment was as powerful as any shifter's. Abel grabbed hold of her with his powerful body, and Effie felt the muscles on his back flex and bulge as his big arms wrapped tightly around her. He held her close and warm against his naked body.
"Effie," he said, "did they...are you—"
She put a hand over his mouth. "No. I'm fine. You saved me, just like you said you would." She smiled into his deep brown eyes, and overwhelming love filled her body, first from her heart, and then reaching out to the tips of her fingers and toes. This man—this bear-man—was hers. The child inside her was theirs. And her nightmare was over.
"Abel," she said, "I can feel how hard you are. Don't be shy...this is just for fun."
He looked her in the eyes and said, "Effie...when I said that grizzly bears mate for life, I meant mate. I know we haven't talked about kids yet, but as fun as it is...I badly want to have kids with you."
Effie smiled from ear to ear and rubbed her nose against his. "I'm already pregnant. So this is just for fun."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Abel
Cubs! Abel's bear roared. We filled up her honeypot in one try!
Effie's smile lit Abel's heart on fire, and he tilted his head and crushed his lips against hers. The taste of her filled him up, and he rolled onto his back to spare Effie from the rough forest floor. Her curves pressed all against his cut stomach, and he ran his hands up and down her waist, imagining the child inside. Would it be a boy or a girl?
Effie's hand cupped his balls and ran up his thick, hard shaft, jolting him back into the moment. He pulled her mouth from his, then he ran kissed his way down her throat, lingering on her collarbone. He took a hand and cupped her ample breast, lifting it up toward his mouth as he squeezed. He sucked on her nipple and ran his tongue gently along it. Effie shuddered and moaned as he teased her nipple, and she squeezed the base of his shaft, making him moan even as he drank in her breast.
He looked up at Effie's face, and just then a ray of sun broke through the treetops and lit up her smile. Birds chirped and sung, and a fish jumped out of the tiny stream before splashing back in. It was as if nature itself were confirming what Abel already knew: that he and Effie belonged together.
"I love you, Effie," he said. "I'll never let anything happen to you again."
She smiled back at him, the ray of sun still illuminating her. "And I love you too, you big silly bear."
"Silly?" Abel said, teasingly. He took Effie's nipple between his fingers and pinched, ever so gently.
Effie squealed. "Ah! Sexy. Big sexy bear, that's what I meant."
"Better," Abel said. Realizing that pinching her nipple to get her to say he was sexy was probably the very definition of silly.
It's not silly! His bear said. You've gotta see how she can handle feeding the cubs!
Effie shifted her body, and her wetness ground up against his hard shaft. They both shuddered and moaned in unison.
Abel grabbed hold of Effie's curves, caressing them gently. Effie pressed herself harder against him, and she rubbed up and down, soaking his hard cock in her incredible wetness.
Abel grabbed the curves of her hips less gently now. He grabbed her hard, squeezing her, wanting to feel her in his hands. She wasn't some weak little stick girl. He could squ
eeze her as hard as he wanted without breaking her. His hands found his way to her big ass, and he took her in thick handfuls as she rubbed against him.
She looked down teasingly at him, "Want me to keep going like this until you're finished?" She ground her wetness against his shaft, but he was not inside her.
"Uh," Abel said, "if that's what you want." He could go like this. Just let her rub against him until he came. He'd rather be inside her though. Wrapped in her warmth.
Effie giggled. "I'm joking, you sexy bear." She said 'sexy,' but he knew she meant 'silly.' "Of course I want you inside me."
Before she could even finish the sentence, he grabbed hold of her wide hips and lifted her up a few inches. She took hold of his manhood, and he guided her down onto it.
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