Lorcan hesitated as he swung his head around toward her. “It’ll be okay.” His earlier caution was overpowered by a newfound confidence that waxed and waned like the moon. One minute Lorcan was her normal teenage son, the next minute he was a strong young man, growing in confidence and strength almost before her eyes.
His new sixth sense hadn’t arrived alone. The change in him had affected him mentally and physically. But that wasn’t what scared her. The thing that kept Shannon awake at night was what might come next. She was out of her depth, both with her son and with the events that had propelled them to leave their home and come to Bear Creek.
Swallowing down her panic, Shannon switched off her flashlight and pressed her finger to her lips. If they were quiet, whoever was out there might just pass on by.
And if they didn’t? That thought brought cold dread in its wake.
Beckoning to Lorcan, Shannon took a step back toward the shadowy recess at the back of the cave. Her son ignored her. Instead of retreating, he took a step forward, his fists clenched at his sides as he prepared to do battle with whoever was out there, and she swore she could see the air shimmer around her teenage son.
“Lorcan,” she whispered quietly. “Back away.”
The young man, on the cusp of puberty, shook his head, his forehead creased as his need to defend his mom overtook her warning. She always knew this day might come. From the first time she looked down on his sweet face as she cradled him in her arms, she’d been warned that his true nature would surface. But as the years went by and he appeared to be a normal child, going through the same growing pains as any other child, both socially and emotionally, she’d come to the belief that what she’d been told was make-believe.
Now she knew differently.
Lorcan wasn’t born to hide away from danger when it stalked him.
But that was what he needed to do.
“Please.” Her heartfelt tone made him pause as he reached the gap in the cliff face.
He turned to face her, torn between leaving and staying. “We can’t just hide.”
“We can.” She nodded.
“He’ll know we’re in here.” He kept his voice low, but he was right.
“He? There’s only one?” She crept forward across the dirt floor of the cave to join Lorcan. If anything happened, she wanted to be by his side.
Lorcan lifted his head and listened. Or whatever it was he did that gave him the almost magical ability to sense things that were impossible to Shannon with her own basic five senses. “Only one. I can’t sense anyone else or anything else for miles.”
“It’s not them.” She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “He said they don’t hunt alone.”
Hunt. The word reverberated around her head. She’d tried to protect Lorcan, just like any other mother would. Yet here they were in a cave deep in the mountains with trouble only a breath away.
Maybe she was overreacting. Perhaps it was just a hiker out for a leisurely climb. Yet the valley beyond the thick wall of solid rock was not easily accessible and certainly not for the faint-hearted hiker. At some time the side of the mountain above their heads had crumbled away, and rocks and trees had crashed into the valley below.
“He’s stopped.” Lorcan mouthed the words next to her ear as he took her hand. He was trying to reassure her, which was bizarre since she was the parent and he was the child. But Lorcan was quickly leaving his childhood behind.
Lorcan leaned forward, every muscle tensed as he prepared to fight. Shannon placed her hand on his upper arm and squeezed it gently, soothing him as they awaited their fate.
She’d made a mistake coming here to Bear Creek, but it had been a necessity. The answers were here. They’d followed the scant clues left for them. Clues that led to Bear Creek. This was confirmed when, as soon as they turned off the highway, Lorcan had connected with his other side.
Something called to him. Those were his words and Shannon had to act on them. Even though she longed to turn the car around and pretend none of it was real.
“Mom,” Lorcan whispered, and she let go of her guilt and focused on her surroundings.
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Springing forward, she bent down and armed herself with two heavy rocks. “Stay back.”
“I can fight.” Lorcan clenched his fists once more.
“I know you can.” Her lips pressed into a thick line. “But I don’t want you to.” A big fat tear rolled down her cheek. “You’re mine to protect.”
Lorcan looked at her for a long moment that stretched into endless ages as she stared into his eyes in the dim light. There was so much mystery in those eyes, so many unfathomable depths and she longed to help him discover those depths once they were free of the danger that hung over them.
“I’ll be right behind you.” He lowered his head and his eyes flashed green as a surge of energy swept through him. The air in the cave crackled and sparked, making the hairs on the back of her hands stand on end. She wasn’t afraid. No matter what lurked beneath the skin of her son, she could never be afraid of him.
But what lurked outside the cave…
Could they have found Shannon and Lorcan so soon? Her hands shook as she leaned closer to the entrance. If they were here, what did that mean for her father?
“He’s moving away.” Lorcan’s words didn’t sink in for a second and even then, she kept alert in case it was a trick. “Mom.”
“Are you sure?” Shannon asked, not taking her eyes off the sliver of light that shone through the entrance of the cave.
“Yes.” He nodded and moved forward to stand by her side. “He’s going on up the valley.”
“A hiker?” Shannon asked.
“Must be.” His shoulders slumped forward as the adrenaline left his body.
“We should go. It’s getting late and we need to get back to Bear Creek and have something warm to eat. We can pick up the search first thing in the morning.” She didn’t move, too scared to leave the cave in case it was an ambush. In case Lorcan’s sixth sense had failed them.
“I’m starving.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Mom, I think you can drop the rocks.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I was thinking I might hang on to them a while longer.” She forced a smile onto her face as she lifted her hands and let the rocks clatter to the ground.
“Maybe we should pick up a proper weapon before we come up here tomorrow.” Lorcan slipped past her and squeezed through the split in the rock.
“No way.” Shannon shook her head. “We do not need that kind of trouble.”
Lorcan didn’t answer as he disappeared from view. Fear gripped Shannon and she rushed forward, turning sideways as she wriggled out of the gap in the rocks. Relief came swiftly as her gaze rested on Lorcan who was standing with his head tilted back, looking up at the mountain peaks towering above them.
“I’m certain it’s here.” His eyes were fixed on a spot deep inside the mountain. “I can feel it.” He rubbed his hands up and down his arms. “It makes my skin crawl.”
“Nice.” With a final wriggle, Shannon freed herself from the cave and came to stand next to him.
“In a good way.” He looked down at her. She couldn’t remember the exact time he’d grown tall enough to look down on her. It was as if it happened overnight when she was sleeping. “Like the night before Christmas.”
It sure didn’t feel like Christmas to Shannon.
“The sun will be setting soon, we have a long way to go.” She eyed the heap of rocks they had to climb, knowing that once they had crested them, they would be faced with a mound of dirt and debris from a more recent landslide.
The sides of the valley seemed to fold in over her head as she swayed from side to side. She was tired, so tired. Maybe too tired to walk back to town. Even supporting her own weight seemed overwhelming as she breathed in the cool mountain air and let it out in a slow, deliberate breath.
“Mom.” Lorcan’s concerned features snapped her out of her fa
tigue-induced nightmare where they would get stranded on the mountains or worse, hunted by the men who were desperate to get their hands on Lorcan. Or on the information that would lead them to treasure.
Dragon treasure.
“Can you still sense him?” Shannon looked around but there was no sign of the person Lorcan had sensed.
Lorcan shook his head. “I can sense an animal in the next valley, but not a person.”
“Could it be the same person, but they’ve shifted?” The word still felt foreign on her tongue and she still was not ready to accept the fact that people really could shift into animals. And that her son would one day shift into a dragon.
Lorcan shrugged. “I can’t tell. But they’re in the next valley, so let’s go.” He nodded toward town. “I’m starving.”
“You always are.” Shannon shuddered as she stepped into the light, leaving the cave behind them and with it their hopes that this might be the day they got lucky and found what they were seeking.
“I’m a growing boy.” Lorcan grinned, looking like a boy rather than a young man. “I need my food.”
“Good food. Not something from a vending machine,” Shannon warned.
As they made their way down through the valley, she relaxed a little. Lorcan made no other mention of the person who had passed through the valley. Neither did he mention any other animals in their vicinity. Taking out her phone, Shannon pulled up the map of the mountains. If Lorcan was sure the treasure was in this area, they needed to find a way to reach it. Shannon glanced up from her phone, her gaze resting on her son who was jumping from boulder to boulder like a child without a care.
She stifled a sob. If only he could have the kind of innocent childhood other children enjoyed. Instead, they’d been yanked from their lives and sent on a journey across the country to try to find dragon treasure, with no guarantee of success.
However, the price of failure was too steep.
Shannon pocketed her phone and summoned the last of her strength. “Race you to the end!”
Just as she’d raced him when he was a toddler, she ran, only this time it was Lorcan who shortened his stride as he leaped from a boulder and followed her down the steep valley. He could beat her easily, but he played the same game she’d played with him in his younger years.
She’d given him a chance. That was all she’d ever wanted for him, a chance to have a life filled with love and happiness.
Yet here they were, despite her best efforts, in an unforgiving landscape with unforgiving hunters on their trail.
Chapter Three – Jason
“It’s not them.” His mate’s words echoed through his head. “He said they don’t hunt alone.”
Jason’s bear sat on the tip of an overhanging rock, looking down on the mountainside as his mate and her son left the steep valley below. For a moment they disappeared from view and his bear shuffled impatiently, scared that they might have been ambushed and not make it out the other side.
Then the two figures, small and wrapped in shadow, reappeared and his heart raced as he fought the need to leap down from his rocky vantage point and chase after them.
Who is them? His bear had asked the same question over and over again after Jason forced him to keep going and not stop when they found the location of their mate. She was in trouble, she thought he was one of the hunters who were searching for them. He didn’t want their first meeting to be fear and hostility.
Hunters. Why would anyone be hunting them? Jason asked.
The boy. His bear was right. There was something about the boy that was different, but he couldn’t quite tell why.
He’s a shifter. His bear had sensed that much. But not of age. He hasn’t experienced his first shift yet. But it’s close, very close.
Maybe that’s why they are here, so that he can shift in the mountains away from prying eyes. It was a good argument for why a mother and her son would be halfway up a mountain.
They would be hidden away inside a cave, his bear agreed.
Although, there are much better caves. Jason knew the location of over a dozen other caves they would have passed on the way up here. Caves that were bigger, easier to access…
That cave is a good choice if you wanted to stay completely hidden. However, his bear wasn’t convinced that was the reason their mate and her son were inside the cave either.
Neither was Jason.
Hunted. His bear got up and shook his large body and his silver-tipped fur rippled as the afternoon sun glanced off pelt.
Maybe not in the way we think, Jason told his bear.
Or maybe it’s exactly in the way we think. His bear didn’t wait for an answer as he turned away from the view of his mate and made his way back toward the trail which wound down through the mountains into the next valley over.
He was certain his mate and her son were heading back to Bear Creek and he needed to follow them and find out where they were staying. He also needed to keep his distance and not alert them to his presence. Although, Jason suspected his senses stretched much further than the boy’s.
She has a son. His bear sighed happily, the thought of raising a boy easing his tension.
She might also have a husband. Jason couldn’t ignore that possibility.
His bear’s mood turned savage. Why isn’t he here protecting them?
Cold dread filled Jason. What if he is the one hunting them? What if he wants his son and is willing to do whatever it takes to get him?
His bear broke into a run. If his mate needed protection, he needed to get closer. He needed to be by her side every minute of every day for the rest of their lives.
They raced down the trail, mud and stones flicking up from their massive paws as they skidded around sharp bends in the trail without slowing. Only when they could sense their mate and her son, and no one else, did they slow to a jog and then a walk.
They followed behind her, always keeping them within reach as they joined the trail that led down to the center of town.
What if they get in a car and drive away? Neither of them had considered this.
If she drove away now, they would spend the rest of their lives searching for her. Or they could take down her license plate, make Brad give them her address and follow her home.
We would hunt her, too, Jason’s bear said solemnly.
The two people in front of them reached the end of the trail and turned left to follow the road into town. Jason shifted into his human form and followed, still keeping his distance, only now he kept them in view.
It was risky, the boy might sense him. But he had to take the chance. Or risk losing her forever.
Out of the question, his bear responded fiercely. Now that they’d found her, they would never let her go.
Great, so now I have to deal with a grumpy, overbearing...bear, Jason told his other side.
His bear fell silent. They both wanted their mate and her child to be safe. Whatever it took.
Jason followed his mate into town, keeping his distance, but keeping them in sight. This worked perfectly until the street got busier and people wanted to say hello.
“Jason. How are you doing?” Roane came out of the diner just as he was walking past the door. “It’s not often I see you in town.”
“No. I’m just...” He didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t like lying, but he didn’t want to tell Roane he was following his mate. That news would go one of two ways. Either Roane would accompany him as he stalked his mate, which would be just downright weird, or she would broadcast it around town and draw too much attention to a man on a mission requiring stealth.
Roane inclined her head as she leaned forward. “Just?”
“I’m...” Jason glanced over Roane’s shoulder. If he didn’t move soon, he would lose sight of his mate. “Patrick.”
“Patrick is here?” Roane asked, swinging around to look in the same direction as Jason.
“No. He’s not here…in town… But he did ask me to pick something up for him.” Jaso
n smiled and sidestepped around Roane. “See you around, Roane.”
“See you around.” Roane watched Jason as he hurried along the main road in pursuit of his mate.
Hurry. His bear’s impatience was understandable since if they lost her now, they might struggle to find her again unless Jason shifted into his bear in the middle of the crowded street and picked up her scent.
“Jason!” Arthur stepped out of the bookstore with his grandson, Shane, by his side. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Absolutely fine.” Jason rushed on although he hated ignoring his friends. This was important, so very important.
The hotel. His bear was right, his mate had stepped off the sidewalk and out of his life. Unless he hurried to follow her.
Breaking into a sprint, he dodged the people who shot curious glances his way. Nothing to see here.
Reaching the door leading to the hotel lobby, he slid to a halt and composed himself. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his nerves. This was it, he would open the door and step inside and take his first proper look at his mate.
What if she didn’t like what she saw?
Just get in there! His bear growled in frustration.
Jason pulled open the solid wooden door and stepped inside the lobby area. The hotel was small, it had been the town tavern for centuries when coaches and horses used the roads instead of cars. Over time the stables that used to house the horses had been converted into guest rooms, while the tavern itself had been renovated and extended into the attic space. The overall feel remained cozy and quaint. It didn’t rival the large hotel situated between Bear Creek and Bear Bluff, but it never set out to. The small hotel appealed to guests who wanted a quieter atmosphere.
Empty. His mate was gone.
Jason swung around just as the elevator doors pinged closed. With a quick glance at the reception desk, he locked eyes with Isla, who he’d met a couple of times in his capacity as a Silverback Savior, rather than a Silverback Stalker. “There was a woman and a boy.”
“There was.” Isla nodded, her eyes narrowing as she assessed Jason. With shifter clarity, she realized she was witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime event. “Room 10. Top floor.”
Jason - Silverback Redemption Page 2
