by Meg Ripley
“I’m gonna check the area, like I told you two assholes to do before we kill her. Can’t take a chance of someone coming around, especially if she’s called her clan.”
With that, he stood and pulled off his shirt before dropping his pants, and Chuck twisted his face in disgust. “Aw man, ya coulda given us a little warnin’. I ain’t into seein’ yer naked ass.” Not Chuck shook his head and raised his eyes to the canopy of the forest.
Jimmy Bob shifted to croc form and scampered off in his stupid lowdown run. Crocs looked like such idiots when they ran, like they just weren’t made to move like that. No wonder they got taken down so easily on land. I could pounce on one in a heartbeat and crush the bastard good.
I still didn’t see or hear Ezra. Where the hell was he? I wanted to scream and cry. The one time I’d let myself need someone, and he was letting me down.
A minute later, the croc came scurrying back, but didn’t stop when he got to me. He charged toward me, and I sat up the best I could to swat at him with my sharp claws.
He had the advantage on me, obviously. Having me trapped and poisoned was the only way he could. When he swiped back, his black claws slashed my skin and I howled; there was no reason to hold back by that point, and I couldn’t have controlled it if I wanted to.
I swatted and swatted, wildly waving my paw as I tried to slash him hard. I gave him a good gash across his neck. Blood poured from the fresh wound and he backed up, panting.
“Enough of that!” Chuck yelled out and picked up his gun again.
Fuck! This is it, I told myself. I couldn’t stop a bullet, and I couldn’t leap forward and bite him.
He pointed the end of the barrel at me and cocked the gun.
16
Ezra
We all heard it at the same time: the howl, followed by the sound of animals fighting. We didn’t have to say it; we all knew what was going on. Britt must have shifted back, and if she was stuck in a trap, half drugged, she’d have no chance.
We’d been running fast, but now we sprinted, spending every last bit of energy we had to push harder and faster. I pulled ahead. It had to be the adrenaline because I’d never outrun Mason or Conner before.
I wished, for the hundredth time, that I could communicate with her mentally like I could with my clan. It was so hard being in animal form and not having the human level of communication we were used to.
More help was on its way behind us, but it would take them a while. Still, I felt some comfort in knowing that in a short time, the place would be swarming with police and Rangers, all there to help Britt. But the comfort was minute compared to the extreme panic I felt. What if we were too late?
It seemed to take ages to get back to the place where I’d left her. I saw the tail of a croc first and a snarl ran up my chest. The croc turned and I pounced on him, noticing in my peripheral vision that two human men were there with him. This was an uneven fight. Two humans and one shifter against a helpless panther was too easy. But three bears on two humans and one croc? Even if they did have a gun, they’d get theirs real fast.
As my paws landed on the croc, my weight pressing him down, and I picked up on the killer’s scent. This bastard is the one, I realized. I bit into his neck and he thrashed around, but my sheer size and weight were more than he could fight against. I punched his spine. The bony, scaled ridge of his back hurt my paw, but it was worth it when I felt his bones crack and he went still. I opened his soft throat with my claws to speed things along, and when I was sure he was dead, I turned back to the others.
The humans were pinned down, looking properly terrified—and very immobile. What the hell were we going to do with them? Well, they weren’t my primary concern in that moment.
I ran to Britt. I wasn’t sure what made her change back to her panther, but I guessed it had been a good thing. She was dirtier than she was when I left her, bleeding from a fresh gash across her muzzle.
I began licking her. The blood and her animal sweat all tasted alive to me, and I felt relieved. But we weren’t clear yet. She was barely conscious, hardly able to move. I didn’t know if it was because of the poison or the attack.
Before I shifted, I asked, How long until someone gets here? There was hesitation. What? I demanded.
There’s no way a crew can get in here, Conner said. Or maybe they can, but it would take too much time. We have to carry her out.
How? There’s still the trap.
Mason looked at the human he was holding down. He slammed his paw into him hard, knocking him out. Then he shifted and came over to the trap.
Conner shifted back and pulled off the pack he’d been carrying in bear form. He pulled out zip ties, flipped the man over, and secured his feet and hands behind his back. He put his face close to the man and growled, “I don’t know why that croc decided to tell you and your buddy over there about us shifters, but you need to forget everything you’ve seen. If you breathe so much as a fucking word about our existence, mark my words, you will be destroyed. Do you understand?”
The man gulped and nodded. “I ain’t seen nuthin’, man.”
When the guy Mason knocked out regained consciousness, Conner secured him after making a similar threat and joined us.
I’d shifted back and sat at Britt’s head, cradling her and talking to her. “I know it’s hard, but you have to shift back.”
Her eyes closed and her head went still.
“Britt! Don’t close your eyes!” After all that, I wasn’t about to lose her.
Her body moved as Mason and Conner worked to get the trap free.
“There’s no chain,” Mason said.
“Small miracle,” Conner added.
They dug at the ground, and in a few minutes, they had freed the trap from the hole.
“Britt, just stay still,” Conner explained. “We’re going to lift the trap out of the hole so we can get it open.”
She nodded once and I watched them as they struggled to pull the heavy trap from the small hole while trying to not hurt Britt, but she twitched and winced in pain.
“Do you have other injuries?” I asked. “Something we can’t see?”
She just looked up at me.
“Please shift back. I don’t know what you’re saying. I need to be able to talk to you.” I felt the tears run down my cheeks as I pleaded with her.
She closed her eyes, and I thought she was either passing out or falling asleep, but then, I saw her tail twitch and begin to shorten. Mason and Conner worked at the trap.
Patches of her skin changed so she became splotchy with panther fur, skin and mud. Her skeleton seemed to change bone by bone, and I couldn’t imagine what pain it must have been causing her. Every shifter perfected the art of changing as fast as possible; that was the only way to keep the pain at a minimum. It got so I barely noticed it anymore. But shifting slowly would hurt like someone was twisting and wrenching each limb, forcing it to break and morph forms.
“Just do it real fast and it’ll be over,” I said, rubbing her nose and head. I wished I could do it for her; wished I could give her my strength, my energy.
It took time, but finally, she looked up at me with her human eyes. I kissed her and stroked her golden hair while they worked.
“We need to get it flat on the ground to do it,” Mason said.
Conner cursed and looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“We have to move her so that her leg can bend. We have to be able to stand on these springs to get the trap to open,” Conner explained.
They’d have to use a lot of weight to push down on the triangles, making them into flat pieces stacked on top of each other, so that the trap would release. With Britt lying down, the trap was on its side.
“Okay,” I said, taking in a deep breath. I looked down at Britt. “Did you hear that? We have to turn you onto your back so your foot is flat on the ground. That’s the only way they can get it off.”
She closed her eyes. With their help, we turned her
as gently as possible. Once she was in position, it only took a minute for them to stand on the trap and get it to release.
Her foot came free and fresh blood poured from the wound. Conner went to his pack and pulled out a roll of bandages, promptly applying pressure and wrapping the wound.
“I think our best bet is to carry her out,” Conner said. “We’ll have the EMTs meet us wherever they can get to.”
“We’re all going to walk out naked?” I asked.
They exchanged looks.
Mason said, “Actually, it might be better if we’re bears. We can lay her across our backs.”
“Take my pack,” Conner said. “There are some clothes in there. Put whatever you can on her and you. We can get back to the car. We have more stuff there.”
They shifted back as I grabbed the pack and slung it over my shoulder. In case any of us had to shift again, I’d wait to get us dressed. We couldn’t afford to lose these clothes and we wouldn’t have time to undress if something came at us.
Mason and Conner stood side by side, and I squatted down and slid my arms under Britt. She was sturdy and muscular, but the adrenaline still pumped through me, giving me just enough of a boost to easily lift her.
I set her carefully across their backs. “Try to hold on,” I told her.
She dug her hands into their coats and they started moving, slowly at first, until they knew she wasn’t going to slide off. They picked up speed and I walked fast to keep up, watching to make sure she wouldn’t fall.
As bears, it would have taken only a few minutes of running, but at human speed, it was taking much, much longer.
“This is taking too long,” I said. “Put her on my back.”
I shifted and held the pack in my mouth while Mason and Conner helped move Britt onto my back. She wrapped her arms tight around my throat. It almost choked me, but I welcomed the pain; it made me move faster.
Once I was sure she was on securely, I took off running as fast as I could while carrying her, and Conner and Mason ran with me. It wasn’t as fast as my usual bear speed of course, but I could cover more ground a lot more quickly than I could on human legs.
They’re here, Conner said. He showed me where the ambulance was parked. It had come as close as it could and the EMTs were standing by, waiting.
Just before we got to them, I stopped and eased her to the ground.
See you at the hospital, I told them before shifting to my human form.
I hurried to get some clothes on us both, and once we were decent, I picked her up again and carried her out of the woods.
I’m sure Conner could have explained exactly what happened at that point, but all I remember is that once they saw us, the EMTs swarmed. They took her from me and got her on a stretcher, then loaded her into the ambulance, where they got an IV line running, gave her oxygen and began cleaning her wounds.
They asked her questions, but she couldn’t answer, so I gave them all the critical information I knew. They asked her more questions, and at first, I answered for her, but then the EMT looked up at me.
“I need to assess her cognitive awareness.”
“Sorry.” I shut up and just sat beside her, holding her hand.
Just before they shut the ambulance doors, Conner hopped on. He got the report from one of the EMTs, then he did his own assessment and gave them more information as the ambulance took off.
They could have been speaking another language, for all I knew.
Conner told the driver, “Straight to the poison center.”
I watched her carefully, hoping she’d just open her eyes and start talking to me and be fine. Conner sat beside me, still checking her vitals and doing things I didn’t understand.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “You did good, man. I think you saved her life.”
“You think?”
“She’ll live. I don’t know what damage has been done, but she’ll live.”
That was all I could ask for. I set my jaw and nodded.
17
Ezra
When we got to the hospital, I had to sit in the waiting room. I still didn’t have my phone, so I couldn’t call anyone. But they all knew. In ones and twos, my clan trickled in.
Mason told me, “The humans are under arrest in jail, and the body of the croc is being processed by our guys.”
By “our guys” I assumed he meant shifters.
When they finally let me in to see her, I refused to leave her side. I spent the night in the ICU with her, and in the morning, the doctor said she could be moved to a normal room. Progress. They kept her one more night for observation, then I was able to drive her home.
“I don’t want you arguing with me,” I said as I helped her inside. “I’m staying here and taking care of you.”
She hadn’t been speaking much over the last few days; she’d been in and out of consciousness as they worked to get the poison out of her system. Then she’d been groggy on pain killers. She’d finally started to seem more like herself on the ride home.
“I want you to stay,” she said.
I helped her to the couch and got her a glass of water so she could take her medication, then sat in a chair by her side.
“You scared me to death,” I said. “Do you know that? I thought you were going to die.”
“I thought I was going to die. When those assholes showed up…and that croc.” Her jaw tightened, and I put my hand on her shoulder.
“Easy,” I said. “He’s dead now. You took a swipe out of him, and I finished him off. We killed him together.”
She pressed her lips together. “I know. I watched you do it. I was cheering you on in my mind.”
“Thanks.” I chuckled.
“No.” She shook her head. “I need to thank you.” She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “What you did for me, saving me and protecting me the way you did…no one’s ever done anything like that for me. I don’t even know if anyone would.”
“I’m sure your clan would.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “We keep to ourselves for a reason. If they saw I couldn’t get away and three guys came with guns, they might have taken off, thinking I was a lost cause.”
“Well, those aren’t very good friends.”
“We’re just not like you all. We’re together for convenience. I don’t doubt they’d try to help me, sure. But if it was me or them, I’d be dead right now.”
“I could never treat you that way.”
“I know.” She gave me a thin smile. “That’s what made me fall in love with you.”
I sucked in a breath. “What?”
“I…I love you, Ezra.”
I eyed the bottle of pain pills. “I’ll believe that when you’re not high.”
She slapped my arm. “I knew it before the attack, you damn idiot.”
I laughed. “Britt, when I thought I’d lost you, it felt like my life was over. I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you, too.” I kissed her and smiled widely.
“We don’t need to get all sentimental about it,” she said.
“Then what should we do about it?”
“There’s one thing I’ve been thinking of a lot.”
She sat up and pulled off her shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her bare breasts shown in the room’s dim light.
I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
She pulled my head to hers, forcing me into a kiss. I didn’t fight back; I wanted her just as bad.
I pulled my shirt over my head and climbed carefully on top of her. Her foot was in a huge cast, but she had it resting on the floor, out of the way.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said.
She huffed. “You really think you could?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been in the hospital with severe injuries and poisoning. Yes, I think you’re maybe not quite 100% right now.”
“Pfft.” She pushed down her shorts, trying to wiggle free, but my weight stopped her.
I lifted myse
lf and helped her get her bottoms off, pulling them awkwardly over her cast, then stepped out of my pants and resumed my position.
I was careful to hold my weight off her, though I let my hot skin touch hers all over. We’d spent so much time together being naked, but this was for a different reason. Now, I took the time to caress her breast and suck her nipple, enjoying every inch of her body.
I moved down slowly, kissing a trail to her stomach, then lower. I pushed her leg over to spread her wide, and when I slid my tongue between her folds, she let out a moan. I sucked at her clit, moving my tongue inside her, then back to her sensitive nub. She moaned and rocked her hips, then grabbed my hair and pulled my face closer. I almost couldn’t breathe, but I kept at it, sucking and flicking until she cried out and her body tensed with pleasure.
I smiled up at her and she made a pleased murmur in response. I climbed back up, laying my head on her chest and listened to her breathing.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
I picked up my head to look at her. “What do you mean?”
“We’re not done.”
“Oh.” I laughed. “I didn’t want to push you too hard.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I want you inside me. Now.”
My eyes widened and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, yes ma’am.” I saluted her and started kissing her again.
It didn’t take long for my cock to stiffen right up again; around her, it happened without me even trying. She had me hard all the time, my thoughts consumed with her and how to please her.
I circled my fingers around her clit, making her moan more before I slipped my finger in and out of her, spreading her wetness around.
“Come on,” she said.
I raised an eyebrow. “Patience.”
“I’ve been waiting weeks. I can’t wait any longer.”
“No?”
I kissed along her neck, and when she reached down to stroke my shaft, I pulled my hips back, out of her reach. I kissed down her stomach, gave her a few flicks with my tongue, then kissed my way back up.
