by J. N. Baker
“I’m fine,” I said, pushing the memories away. “I was just a little…” I froze, the word dancing on the tip of my tongue, taunting me.
“Distracted?” Ryuu suggested.
I blew out a breath. “Yeah,” I mumbled. “Won’t happen again.”
Brock sauntered over to us, pulling his sweat-stained shirt over his head and tossing it on a nearby branch. “What is it that’s got ye so distracted, lassie?” he asked, going for his belt next. Pausing, he took in a deep breath, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Interesting. Yer face says pain, but yer body screams arousal.”
With a snap of his wrist, he flung off his kilt. The big shift howled with laughter, standing in front of us in no more than his long thermal socks and muddy boots. “It’s me, isn’t it? No woman in her right mind can resist a Scot!”
“I surely can,” Ivanna said, grimacing as Brock helicocktered in her direction.
“And what do you know?” he sneered, turning to add his kilt to the branch and giving us a not-so-nice view of his backside. “You bloodsuckers probably wouldn’t know a good cock if it came up and bit ye in yer ass. Do they even get hard with yer kind?”
“Very,” Dante ground out.
“Play nice, children,” Ryuu warned, humor in his voice.
The forest nymphs watched on with black eyes, clearly unamused. In unison—which was only minorly creepy—all five of them looked up.
I followed their gaze as the first flake floated toward us. After months without, snow drifted down from the sky, slow at first but quickly growing. I pulled up the hood of my cloak, happy to have it. It was a comfort for more than just its warmth. Every now and then, when I snugged it tight against my body, I caught the slightest whiff of Josh’s scent on the black fabric.
“Well, I’m glad I’ll be wearing a nice warm fur coat,” Brock said as he pulled off his boots. “Sucks to be you sorry fucks.”
With that, Brock bent over, bones snapping and popping as his body shifted into something much larger. Thick brown fur coated his massive body, four-inch claws sprouting from his now-paws. His shift was much more fluid and a hell of a lot quicker than Cody’s. In only seconds, a giant grizzly bear stood in the Scot’s place. It was a fitting choice for such a gruff, scruffy man.
“Good choice,” Ryuu said, echoing my thoughts. “Grizzlies have one of the best noses in the animal kingdom. You should be able to sniff out deer miles away.”
Brock snorted in response with said nose and then turned back toward the forest.
“Where is he—” Dante’s words fell away as the big bear popped a squat.
“Well, then,” Ryuu said, “I guess we now know the answer to the age-old question: a bear really does shit in the woods.”
In what I could only assume was a laugh, the bear huffed as he returned to the group. His eyes landed on the forest nymphs, awaiting initial directions. Being one with nature and all, they knew the lay of the land better than any of us. They would know where we should go for the best chance of finding food. Hopefully. They hadn’t exactly been all that lucky themselves as of late. But they also had been sticking rather close. I didn’t think we’d be doing that today.
The taller of the five nymphs pointed south with a long fingernail. “Far,” he rasped, confirming my suspicions. The grizzly grunted in return before loping off in that direction with a speed I wasn’t expecting.
Taking our cue, we all followed after him. It looked like we had a long way to go.
After hours of running, an infinite number of fields, multiple destroyed towns, three streams, and a river, we finally skidded to a stop. An immense forest stood in front of us, trees stretching on either side as far as the eye could see, even eyes as strong as mine. A heavy silence hung over our group as we took in the forest. It seemed peaceful, despite the darkness.
Brock lumbered forward, panting and frothing at the mouth. I could only imagine the colorful language that would be spewing from that mouth if he were in his human form. In many ways, he reminded me of Markus: a take-no-shit, wear-no-filter kind of man. Except I didn’t think Brock would make it one day in Markus’s military world. He didn’t strike me as someone who followed orders, let alone bark them at others. He just wanted to be left the hell alone. I could relate.
Plus, Markus at least tried to curb his language around the ladies, not that he ever succeeded. The memory made me smile.
“Now what?” Ivanna whispered, not the slightest bit out of breath. Not surprising for one of the vamps. The only one struggling here was Brock, who huffed his displeasure.
The grizzly’s nose went up, smelling the air. He snorted, releasing a low growl that vibrated through his massive body. His big head swung to the right. He’d caught a whiff of something.
The forest nymphs took his cue, wordlessly leaping down from their mounts. They would be much stealthier on foot. The large horses wandered off, though I doubted they’d go far from their masters.
As Brock moved forward, the nine of us trailed after him, creeping into the tall trees.
My eyes instantly traveled upward, scanning the dark treetops. It may have been a different forest, but MaryAnn was attacked from above. As much as we hoped there wouldn’t be a second attack, we had to be prepared. I unsheathed my blade. I wasn’t there to hunt. I was there to make sure our hunters didn’t become the hunted.
Brock slowed in front of us, his beady brown eyes peering between two large evergreens. We pushed in around him to see what it was he saw.
And what he saw was magnificent.
The forest opened up to a small meadow. But that wasn’t what made it so wonderful. No, it was the three deer standing in the center of it—two does and a buck.
I always thought deer were beautiful creatures, the way they bounded through the open fields back in Washington. So graceful, as if light as feathers. It was funny, when you were starving, they were even more beautiful as they were going down.
The first doe staggered as the arrow pierced her heart, a perfect hit. Dante was right about Ivanna’s skills with a bow. I hadn’t even heard her nock her arrow. Before the other two deer had a chance to register what had happened and flee, the forest nymphs released their own arrows, bringing the graceful animals down with muted thuds.
Dante was the first to rise, stepping out into the meadow. “Nicely done,” he told Ivanna as she retrieved her arrow, giving her an approving nod. “That was a fine shot.”
“We may have stumbled into a goldmine here,” Ryuu said, standing over the large buck, its blood beautifully staining the freshly fallen snow. These animals’ deaths meant our peoples’ survival. I would be forever grateful.
“We will spread out,” Ryuu continued, “but don’t go too far. And only kill what we can carry back between us and the horses. We can always return another time. We don’t need to overhunt and waste meat.”
We nodded our agreement.
Dante pulled a rope from his pack and tied it around one of the deer. He licked the blood off his fingertips and sighed. I thought I saw him blush when he caught me watching him. I knew that was impossible. Much like the Chosen, vampires weren’t very connected with their feelings. Dante cleared his throat. “I will take these kills back to the horses, my la…Zoe.”
“Try not to drain them dry,” I said, halfway joking.
“Don’t worry,” he started, his sharp fangs peeking out from beneath his upper lip, “I much prefer human blood.” And with that, he went to work dragging the deer away.
“Thanks for clearing that up,” I mumbled, turning back to the others. “Let’s go.”
The forest nymphs fanned out quickly, disappearing into the forest with their natural camouflage. Ivanna was already gone, as was teddy bear Brock.
Ryuu stepped beside me. “I’ll take the left, you take the right. Keep your head on a swivel, Fido,” he added, his face serious. “I don’t want to hear William’s lecture if someone dies on our watch.”
“You and me both,” I said as we sepa
rated.
I moved back into the trees with sword in hand, listening for our hunters. An arrow sailed through the air to my left, followed by a small squeal. A rabbit most likely. My stomach growled at the thought. Annie made a mean rabbit stew.
Almost immediately, another arrow whizzed through the darkness before hitting something solid. Hooves stomped erratically as a doe stumbled forward before collapsing ten feet from me. One of the forest nymphs emerged from the trees and descended on the animal, ending its suffering with a small dagger. A second nymph appeared, wooden bow slung over her slender green shoulder. Neither of the two paid me much attention as they got to work bundling their food.
The forest nymphs tended to stick to their own kind, but they were loyal where it counted. A hell of a lot more loyal than the fucking shadow people. Plus, they helped to add to our dwindling numbers. Of course, their numbers were also reduced during the Great Battle, but there were still hundreds of them throughout the land, and at least eighty or so that stayed close, keeping a watchful eye on our little kingdom.
Sometimes it amazed me how all these magical creatures had managed to stay hidden from the human eye for so many years.
Keeping the nymphs’ location in the back of my mind, I moved farther into the forest to check on the others.
The snow continued to fall, heavy enough to push through the treetops and blanket the forest floor. In mere minutes, it had concealed the fresh footprints behind me. While the snow would help keep our meat cold, it wasn’t doing anything for visibility, even with all of our superior eyesight. And it only seemed to be getting worse. I knew we would have to turn back soon. We couldn’t risk any friendly fire. I couldn’t begin to imagine the bitch fit William would have if that happened.
The darkness hugged me tighter than my snow-dusted cloak and I found my mind wandering back to Josh. The “what ifs” were more than happy to keep me company in the dark depths of the forest. The trees reminded me of the last time I’d seen his face, the last time his lips touched mine. He’d promised to come back to me, but he was never given the chance to keep that promise.
Something small rustled in the tree above me, jarring me from my thoughts. I shot my hand up and snatched the snake from the bare limb. It hissed at me, baring its long fangs. I rolled my eyes. As if those scared me. I was practically swimming in fangs.
With a flick of my wrist, I snapped the serpent’s neck and tossed its limp body into my bag. Meat was meat. If the others wanted to be picky then I’d eat the whole damn thing myself. The thought of eating made my mouth water.
Before I could flip the top of my bag closed, something moved to my right, crunching through the snow. I willed it to be another deer. I might not have been there to hunt, but I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to help our people. My fingers tightened on the sword’s hilt, inching my way in the direction of the sound.
A voice in the wind stopped me in my tracks. Deer didn’t talk.
“Who’s there?” I called, halfway expecting and entirely hoping that one of our people would step through the trees. They didn’t.
I took another step, pausing in a small clearing. The voice came again, louder.
“Run.”
And then the creature charged me.
The shadow creature stopped an inch short of my blade. Its black cloak was almost white with snow. Though I couldn’t see its eyes behind the sagging hood, I could feel them boring into me.
“You should not be out here,” it whispered with a deep, raspy voice I was surprised I recognized. It was the same creature that had warned William before the hunt, the one I hadn’t exactly made friends with. Shit.
“Did you follow us?” I asked, unable to keep the shock out of my voice.
“My warning was not heeded,” it said. “You are in danger here. You must run.”
Suspicion flooded through me. I eyed the creature for a moment, standing stock-still in front of me like a statue of the Angel of Death. I didn’t lower my blade. I’d never really trusted the shadow people, and I’d be damned if I started now.
“You should go back,” I told it. “You do not belong here.”
In a flash, the creature lunged at me, impaling itself on my blade. It stopped no more than a handful of inches from my face. I dropped my gaze to the snowy ground, avoiding its glowing yellow eyes. Its breath slid across my face, the stench so foul, my nonexistent breakfast nearly resurfaced—or maybe it was dinner.
“It is you who does not belong here,” the shadow creature growled. “They are coming. You must flee.”
With that, the creature retracted itself from my outstretched sword, giving no sign of pain whatsoever. It turned its back to me, disappearing into the darkness, consumed by the shadows it dwelled within.
“You have been warned.”
Something large stirred in the trees high above me and I froze, listening as it shifted around me. It was time to round up the others and get the hell out of Dodge before someone got hurt…or worse.
I hurried through the forest, retracing the steps I could no longer see under the thick blanket of snow. With each step I took, the shadow creature’s words echoed in my mind. They are coming.
I didn’t need to ask who. I knew.
An arrow whistled through the air somewhere in the distance and an animal cried out. I quickly changed my direction, heading straight for the sound. Before I could reach it, Dante stepped in front of me, just shy of the tip of my sword. I lowered my weapon upon recognizing him.
“Lady Zoe,” he rushed to say, “something has happened. Please, come quick.”
There wasn’t time to chastise him on his use of ridiculous titles. Instead, I raced after him, the snow crunching under my light footfalls. Something moaned in the darkness. A very human something.
Dante stepped aside and I saw him, naked and sprawled across the forest floor with an arrow lodged in his chest. I pushed past a very anxious Ivanna, fiddling with her bow. Ryuu was kneeling beside the wounded man. A man I’d never seen before.
“I-I didn’t know it was a shift,” Ivanna said. “I swear. It looked like a deer. I never would have fired if I had known.”
A low growl sounded behind me, followed by cracking bones. Shortly after, a very naked Brock pushed his way to the moaning man, not bothering to wipe the blood from his mouth. He crouched beside Ryuu and I wished my eyes weren’t so good at seeing dangling things in the dark.
Brock grabbed the wounded man by the face and looked closely at him. “He ain’t one of ours,” he said, dropping the shift’s head back to the snow. The man groaned in pain, coughing up blood.
“You’re sure?” I asked. Brock said himself he chose to stay on the outskirts of our kingdom rather than with his own kind.
“Aye, I’m sure. I ain’t never seen this bastard before. I said I don’t much like people, I didn’t say I don’t know people.”
“You didn’t know me,” I muttered.
Brock snorted, tossing me a look over his shoulder. “I know my people,” he corrected. “What, are ye jealous, love?”
“If he isn’t ours, then what the hell is he doing out here?” I snapped. But I already knew the answer. They are coming.
The wounded shift laughed weakly, pointing up at us. No, not us. Me. He choked on his blood, convulsing on the forest floor until I heard his heart stop beating.
By this point, the forest nymphs had found us, circling around in a protective barrier. Their black eyes only made me more uneasy.
“We need to get the hell out of here,” I told Ryuu.
He nodded, turning to Brock. “Take to the skies. Fly back to the castle as fast as you can and tell them to be on alert, just in case. I don’t have to tell you to watch out for any winged monsters up there.”
Brock smirked as he rose to standing. “Those wee beasties will never catch me,” he said with a confidence that rivaled William’s. With that, the big Scot spun around and, in damn near a blink, a falcon shot up through the trees.
Ryuu moved
away from the dead shift, dusting the snow from his pants. “All right. Stay on high alert. The hunt is over. If you see any critters running around, leave them. We’ll take what we have and go.”
I glanced at the forest nymphs, one of which had a deer carcass resting at his feet. I chewed my bottom lip. I didn’t think Ryuu would like what I was about to do. Hell, William would likely throttle me for it, but I knew it had to be done. “I want the five of you to go on ahead of us,” I told the nymphs. “Most of our kills are already mounted on the horses. Throw what you’ve got on them and go. No matter what, you get that meat back to our people, understood?”
They nodded in unison, dragging their kill behind them as they moved around us, heading out of the forest.
Ryuu threw me a questioning look. As I suspected, he wasn’t a fan of further splitting up the group. But I didn’t think Baldric’s people would go after the forest nymphs. In fact, I knew they wouldn’t. Not if they knew I was out here, which they clearly did. They were after me. I knew it. Ryuu knew it. It was a risk we had to take if it meant the food would make it back safely. He had to know this was the right move.
Once more, my eyes traveled to the treetops, scanning the branches. “Come on,” I told the others. “We need to get moving. Stay together and move quickly. We’ll take a slightly different route than the nymphs.”
As Dante and Ivanna made their way to the edge of the forest, Ryuu leaned over to me. “You know what you’re doing right, Fido?”
“Yeah. I think so. Just trust me on this.”
He chuckled. “Oh, that’s the crazy thing. I do. But if this goes shit side up, I’m telling William it was all your fault.”
“Snitch,” I sneered.
He gave me one last smile before his face grew serious once more. “I’ll take the lead, you take the rear. We’ll be fine.”
I nodded but he was already gone, taking his place at the front of our small group.
Able to cover more ground without the forest nymphs to slow us down, we broke through the tree line in less than a minute and promptly hit the brakes.
