Last night I’d been unable to hold back, but Hazel had kept up.
Now watching her hips move against me, I suddenly felt like I was the one who had to keep up. And I grinned even wider. Hazel really was my perfect match. A soulmate.
Both us were panting now, Hazel squirming as she began to come undone, and we were moving faster and faster. Soon that white light hit me, speeding across the sky and enveloping me.
Deep rolling pleasure hit me. Mind-blowing. Intense. White-hot.
I heard her cry out my name, then I cried out hers, and we fell together. Just a tangle of limbs and chestnut hair. Hazel blew a lock out of her face as she looked at me.
“Did I wear you out?” She asked, batting her eyes.
In an instant I had her on her back and was kissing her neck. Then I whispered in her ear. “You forget who you’re dealing with here. I put out wildfires for living.”
“Sure about that?” Hazel teased. “Cause right now it seems like you’re doing the opposite.”
I burst out laughing, holding onto her, and shaking all over. Hazel did too.
And then I kissed her, still laughing, really hoping today would take its time to end.
An hour or so later, starving, I walked into the kitchen after my shower and saw Hazel making breakfast. It had to be about ten or eleven, the latest I’d gotten out of bed in a while, and then I realized something else.
“You’re not at the site,” I blurted out.
“No, I’m not.” She gave me an amused look. “We’re spending the day together.”
“What?” I asked, even as my heart leaped and a stupid smile spread across my face.
“You heard me.” Flipping her hair, she turned back to the stove.
Walking over, I couldn’t help but hug her around the waist, while murmuring into her hair, “So is this fuel for getting back into bed?”
Tilting her head back, she smiled and shook her head. “I thought we could take a walk.” Then she slipped out from under my arms and walked over to the cabinets to get plates. “You could show me around.”
Following her, I turned her around and put my arms on either side of her on the counter. “You mean a hike? These aren’t really walking mountains.”
Her cheeks went the palest of pinks, eyes sparkling with lust, but she held her ground, placing two hands flat on my chest. “Yes, that’s fine. It’s so nice out.”
It’s nicer in here, I thought, but instead, I smiled and said, “Okay.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up and I kissed her swiftly, then walked over to the table. “Okay, then,” she said a moment later, breathing a little hard, and then she asked, “What was I doing over here?”
Walking outside a little while later, a bag over my shoulder, I could see what Hazel meant. The air was the warmest it’d been so far, with a cool breeze rustling by every now and again to keep it from getting oppressive. Bright blue skies made the green of the trees crisp and I inhaled happily.
I knew just where to take Hazel on a day like today.
Once Hazel was ready, we headed west, scrambling down a long hill. While we walked, I asked Hazel about London again, then about college, and her studies. We’d talked about it before, but now I wanted to know the more intimate details. She looked flattered and then proceeded to tell me everything. And Hazel made me laugh more than once, surprising me.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this carefree, this happy to be alive, and with another person. At one point she just smiled at me and I had to kiss her.
“What was that for?” she asked when we broke apart.
“You,” I said simply, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders as we meandered on.
A little later, she asked me a tentative question about Colorado, and I went to pull away, then stopped. Looking over at her, I sighed, saying, “You’re already onto me with that, huh?”
She blinked in surprise, then gave me a sad look. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me.”
“No, it’s okay.” I swallowed. “I grew up on the Colorado River Reservation. I don’t know what you’ve heard about reservations in the US, but it’s tough at times. Not a lot of resources, jobs, or much of anything to go around. But I was always happy as a kid. My parents were happy.” I paused. “Then when I was around eight, my dad died from complications from a surgery. We were poor and it took a long time to save up the money…” My throat went tight. “It destroyed my mother. She blamed herself and missed him. But she tried to struggle on, for me.”
Hazel leaned her head onto my shoulder, looping an arm around my waist as we continued to walk. I spoke again, haltingly. “If I didn’t have my granddad, I don’t know what I would have done. She lived for six more years, but she then she died. I think she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Things were getting bad on the reservation, too. At the time I didn’t want to admit it, but there were some serious problems. Two of my cousins were getting into drugs, barely a year older than me, and I was running with a rough crowd. So my grandfather sent me away.”
Here I stopped, speaking and walking. My eyes closed. It still hurt. Even after all this time, it was still a raw wound.
“But you were fourteen!” Hazel said and I gripped her shoulder, nodding. “Why?”
Opening my eyes, I said, “School. He sent me to military boarding school, got me in on a scholarship.” My face twisted. “Native American one, the goddamn irony. It was a lonely four years. I went out of my way to not make friends because all I wanted to do was go back.
“And I think I felt like I couldn’t trust anyone, but by the time I grew out of that, it was long after graduation, and I was aimless. I had nowhere to go…
“Once I’d wanted to be a doctor, but by then I didn’t want to go to school. So I enlisted as a medic in the army, got trained, and went overseas for a few years.”
Hazel was watching me with big eyes. It was like she was listening with every fiber of her being. “That’s when you spent time in London?” She asked, her voice a little teasing, but warm.
I nodded. “Yeah, they bounced me around. Once I was done with that, I kept bouncing around, doing odd jobs and avoiding Colorado. My grandfather wanted me to visit, but I kept putting it off, pretending I had somewhere to be.” Swallowing, I shook my head. “It was selfish. I should have gone back sooner. But I was mad at him. Then he got sick and I was almost too late… I barely got a chance to say goodbye.”
Hazel pushed her face into my chest, hugging me, and I wrapped my arms around her. “Yeah. Kind of a wake-up call. After that, I started workin’ with the Hotshots.” A laugh escaped me. “Changed my life, got my act together – for the most part in the last four years. But that year after my Grandpa passed, I was stupid and selfish.”
Hazel stepped back, her eyes red, and she shook her head at me. “You went through a lot, Ben, you can’t blame yourself. You were young. And everyone makes mistakes. Your grandfather loved you.” Gripping my arms, she swallowed, and said, “You need to forgive yourself.”
“That’s only one of my many screw-ups, though,” I said softly.
“Ben.” Hazel’s voice broke, then she hesitated, and looked down.
“Come on,” I said after a moment of silence. “We’re close.”
“Wow,” said Hazel when we broke free from the trees. Below us was a great expanse of a lake cradled by mountains to the North, South, and East, but westwards, it was all water and open forest, running to a smudge of distant mountains.
“Wait till you see the sunset,” I said, helping her scramble down to the shore.
As the sun lowered, the air stayed warm, and we took our shoes off, wading in the cool water, and splashing each other. Later we had a picnic, talking about everything under the sun, and bickering agreeably about history, politics, and geology.
Then I told her stories about the Hotshot Brothers, leaving out the parts about being a shifter, instead telling her about firefighting, Cree’s antics getting us into trouble, Wes sh
aking his head at us, Wildman’s even crazier adventures, Ray patiently saving our asses, and so forth.
“You guys really are like brothers,” Hazel commented. “I’m a little envious. I don’t have any siblings.”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky like me, then,” I responded.
Crawling over, Hazel plunked down between my legs and leaned back against me. Instantly my body stirred with hunger and I wrapped my arms around her.
“Oh, I think I’m pretty lucky,” she said, rubbing her hands along my forearms, and resting her head back on my shoulder.
I had nothing to say to that, so I just held onto her and wished that time would slow down.
But the sun slid to the horizon, the still lake reflecting the sky, and then the first stars were appearing. Pulling Hazel to her feet, I realized I hadn’t asked if she minded a walk home in the dark woods. Glancing at her uneasily, I saw that she was smiling in the after-light, and my shoulders relaxed. She was safe. She was with me.
The walk seemed all too short, for being an hour, and I had to repress a sigh when the cabin came into sight. Hazel went straight to her room when we got in and I slowly got ready for bed. I’d gone to brush my teeth in the small bathroom adjoining the wall of the outside shower, and when I came back, I stopped in the doorway. Hazel, wearing a skimpy tank top and shorts, was crawling into my bed and under the covers.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked, tilting her head at me.
I smirked, hit the light, and jumped in after her.
Thankfully, the next two days were the weekend, and we could spend every last moment together. Usually Hazel would work or go visit the town where the rest of team was staying, but she didn’t leave my side. And I didn’t want her to either.
Saturday we slept in late, made pancakes for an early lunch, and then wandered through the woods for a while.
I’d forgotten what it was like to be this happy, I realized. And it was terrifying because I didn’t want to let her go. Part of me knew I should have told her everything Saturday, but I hadn’t, and that night I was plagued with bad dreams.
Dreams about Hazel slipping away from me, falling into the shadows, destroyed by the Ash Walkers.
I woke up early Sunday morning, rubbing my face, and glancing over at her. For a brief two days, I’d forgotten the destiny hanging over my head. Now it loomed up, demanding that I tell her everything. After all, by now, it did seem like she had a role to play.
Sunday was a little quieter. We were both tired. Often we fell into a comfortable silence, not needing to talk, which made my heart yearn for Hazel even more.
Tell her. Tell her everything, screamed a voice in my head during those silences. Tell her how you feel.
Around twilight, we made our way to the river, just to stretch our legs and enjoy the cool evening. As the previous two days had been unusually hot, I knew a storm was moving in and kept glancing up at the sky.
Something was nagging at me, but I couldn’t focus on it, not with Hazel asking me questions about the Crow Tribe, eager to fill gaps in her knowledge.
When we got to the river, just downstream of the site and the cave, she turned to me, cheeks flushed in the fading light, and asked, “Will you tell me the rest of your story now?”
Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the sky and wondered how the rest of my brothers would feel about this. I could almost hear Cree singing out “Soulmates!” and see their amused faces.
Why had I doubted them? They’d be supportive if irritating about it.
Now, more than ever, I wished I had just come clean five years ago.
“Ben.” I looked down. Her eyes were earnest and she tugged on my hands. “I know this is going to sound strange, but I honestly feel like I’m meant to be here. Maybe it’s to help you.”
Should I clear this with the guys first? I wondered, trying to pretend I wasn’t stalling.
Ah, hell. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Looking at Hazel, another fear crept up my spine. Gripping her hands back, I wondered if it would scare her. Would she recoil once she knew? Would she look at me the same way? How could I explain to her that this destiny, as strange as it seemed, had made me a better man? Given me purpose? A family?
“I don’t know if this is the time,” I said in a soft voice, cursing myself for being such coward.
Her mouth thinned, eyes full of disappointment, and I winced.
“Let’s go back, it’s getting cold,” she said, not meeting my eyes now, and letting go of my hands. The wind was picking up as we turned and I could feel the heaviness in the air.
A crack split the night, echoing in the trees around us, and we both jumped. Instantly every muscle in my body tensed as my adrenaline spiked, and a familiar, noxious scent filled the air.
Ash Walkers.
One or more was here; I could sense the foul presence lurking in the shadows. Slowly I scanned the woods. That’s when I went to reach for Hazel and realized she was gone.
“Hazel!” I shouted in terror. And then I saw her running up the trail, straight to the site.
“Ben! Look!” She stopped and yelled back. “Fire! I thought you were right behind me, come on!” Smoke was curling up from an area near the site and I could hear the familiar whoosh of burning timber. Shit, this isn’t good.
“Hazel, no, wait!” I yelled as she took off again. I chased after her, fear now spiking my adrenaline even higher. But Hazel had gotten just enough of a head start that she beat me by a second to the site, and I stopped dead behind her. Fire engulfed the trees just beyond the tent, their long tendrils snaking through the grass towards it. I went to grab my walkie from my back pocket and I realized it wasn’t there. I’d left it back in the cabin to charge.
This really isn’t good, I thought grimly, staring around at the burning trees.
“All our work!” she cried out, going to run for it when I stopped her.
“Hazel, I’ll grab what I can. You need to get back to the cabin. Radio for help,” I said, staring at her, and trying to make her listen. Squeezing her shoulders, I continued, “You need to go. Now.”
My skin prickled and I looked beyond her. Two red eyes were considering me from beyond the tree line, then blinked, and vanished. No, no… This can’t be happening. Swallowing hard, I wondered what its endgame was, and why it hadn’t charged out already.
I’d never faced one by myself before; only Rayner had, and he’d been forced to flee. We weren’t as strong individually, but as a team, we were unstoppable. I couldn’t call my brothers on the phone, but I could another way, only Hazel couldn’t see that.
“Two hands are better than one!” she snapped at me. “We’re wasting time.”
I grabbed her wrist as she tried to squirm away and pointed toward the cabin. “Please, Hazel. It’s not safe. C’mon, I’m a wildland firefighter, you gotta listen to me. Run now, I’ll be right behind you.” Silently I prayed I could hold it off long enough for Hazel to get to the cabin. Aunt Sil had the land around it protected for 100 yards in a wide circle as an extra precaution – thank Old Man Coyote.
“You should listen to him, Hazel.” Came another voice. A cold, empty one, rasping across the ground, ringing out louder than the crackling flames.
Hazel paled, turning sharply. “Maxwell?” He lurched from the shadows. “What are you…?”
Maxwell shrugged, rubbing his face, and in that instant, from the light of the fire, I saw a glint of sickly yellow in his eyes. My hackles rose, fists clenching, and I glared at him.
Hazel must have seen it too, as she sucked in a breath, backing into me, and I pushed her behind me. “Stay back,” I growled. I grit my teeth, wishing she’d run already so I could shift.
“Something’s wrong with him,” she said in a whisper, clenching my arm.
“You need to run. And don’t look back.” I said in a low voice, glancing back at her.
“Ben, look out!” She screamed, trying to push me, and I saw a line of fire swinging tow
ards me out of the corner of my eyes.
In one motion, I knocked her to the ground, the fire snapping over our head, and then I turned and leaped, transforming, intent on taking down that pale-eyed monster.
Chapter 13
“Ben!” My voice ripped against my throat as I scrambled to my knees, shaking with terror. How can he think he can stop that thing? If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes – fire lashing out from blackened hands and the strange light in Maxwell’s eyes – I’d never have believed it. No matter how much I’d wished for the old myths and legends to be true, I’d never given a second thought to the possibility that they could be.
Or what that would actually entail.
Breath coming rapidly, my gaze locked onto Ben. Trying to push him out of the way had been like moving a tree. And he’d moved with such speed, knocking me down, and then twisting, leaping to his feet.
Now he was running straight at Maxwell, impossibly fast, and suddenly, he changed. In an instant, Ben went from man to beast, falling on all fours and snarling as he leaped, knocking Maxwell to the ground.
Chest seizing up, a gasp escaped me, and my eyes watered.
A coyote. He’d become a massive black and white coyote.
Lifting his head, Ben let out a long howl that seemed to reverberate in the air around us. Eyes widening, I glanced up and watched as the flames in the trees faltered.
Wondering if I was hallucinating, I looked back just as Maxwell seemed to hunch over, his skin cracking and hands splitting as they became claw-like. I clapped a hand to my mouth as nausea roiled in my gut.
Fire sparked from Maxwell’s hands as he attacked. Sometimes it was tendrils, but usually it was bursts, and poorly aimed. Ben avoided him with ease, all while trying to drive him away. He was stronger and faster than a regular coyote, his fur gleaming with an unusual luminescence.
Part of me was screaming to run and hide, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t look away. It was as though I’d slipped through a crack in time, and was caught in the midst of an ancient battle between good and evil. Also, something about this stirred a memory I couldn’t quite grasp.
HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters Page 11
