by D. K. Davis
Now I understood what a seriously pure strain shifter was as I held Morgan in my arms. The need to protect her washed through me, among other things thundering through me, and I backpaddled, knowing she had protected me. She saved me from death within seconds, by me merely ingesting her superior strain of blood.
Her hands snugged the back of my neck and pulled my head lower, gripping my hair and deepening our kiss. “Stop thinking. You’re ruining the moment.”
I heard her thought and grinned against her lips until she laughed.
“Okay, you win. Let’s go, or we’ll miss our opportunity to rescue my aunt and your dad.”
* * *
By the time we got to Dad and Becka on the side of the road, Leo and his crew stood around the two men. All eyes turned toward us, and I didn’t much care for the added attention on Morgan. A few of Leo’s men pointed at her and whispered to each other.
“Load those two up and get on your way. There’s nothing more to be done here,” Dad directed.
Dad and Becka hurried to us. Leo followed them.
“Thanks for thinking of us and coming to get us, but you need to leave. These guys think we’ve got a miracle drug in Morgan, and I think we should keep her under wraps until this kind of talk dies down.” Dad shoved us back toward his truck. “Leo, go back to your men. We’ll talk more tomorrow. For now, share none of this with anyone else, and the guys who are with you, swear them to secrecy. Morgan’s ability is a high profile, and our goal is to keep it under wraps.” He stopped and turned toward Leo. “I mean it. Stop the talk from getting out of hand. Now.”
Leo stalked away toward the others. He looked unhappy.
“Dad, what happened?”
“Those two idiots must have seen enough of your healing to story-tell. They’ve raised avid interest with Leo’s so-called Peacekeepers. I’m serious about keeping Morgan away from the public for a while.”
We all climbed into Dad’s truck, Morgan and I sat in the back, Becka sat up front with Dad.
“Oh, my goodness, look at the time,” Becka mentioned.
I did. “Wow, 3:30 a.m. We’ll have to power sleep.”
Dad spoke up, “She’s staying at our place until she’s learned enough about her kind to be safe in public. Got that?”
“We’ll pack her things in the morning,” Becka said, and then added, “I’ll have to go home and help Charlie tomorrow. We have no extra hands coming.”
“Aunt Becka, I can help. I’ll go stir crazy not doing anything all day.”
“She has a point, Linden. Perhaps I can borrow Rowan and Morgan for Friday, and you can have them all day on Saturday when the new kids come to visit.”
Dad took a deep breath, stared at me through the rearview mirror, and said, “How about training in the evenings, and working for Becka during the day?”
I glanced at Morgan, and she smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”
Something still bothered me about Oakly. “Dad, Oakly was covered in human blood and neither of the captured men had injuries.”
Chapter Fifteen
Rowan
Oakly, dressed and waiting, sat in the great room when we walked in. He jumped up and hustled to us. “Thanks, bro, Dad, Becka.” He hugged each of us, then stopped in front of Morgan. “I owe you my life. And, I want you to know and understand that I’m here to protect yours.”
Morgan glanced at me and then back to Oakly. She nodded.
I saw on her face; she’d read a change in Oakly as we all had. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and then looked at Oakly. “I’ve never faced death either, brother. I hope that doesn’t happen again for a long, long time and then only from natural causes.”
“Rowan and Oakly, I’d like you to go wait in the kitchen while I settle Becka and Morgan in for the night.” Dad led the women toward their room, and Oakly and I wandered into the kitchen.
“I’ve been so reckless, not just with my life, but with the whole Pryde’s.” Oakly plopped into a chair and with elbows on the table, he dropped his head into the palms of his hands. “What the hell was I thinking?”
“You weren’t.” Dad stood in the doorway.
Both of us glanced at him.
“Tell me everything that happened tonight, most especially about the human you injured.” Dad’s jaw tensed.
“I thought the idea was a good one.”
“What idea?” Dad strode to the table and sat across from Oakly.
I took a seat next to Oakly.
“Three guys approached me in town. They’d heard that I patrol a large forested area, and they were looking for wild game meat to feed the poor. That was a few weeks ago when I culled a pretty good amount of squirrel, raccoon, rabbit, fox, opossum, and deer.” He looked from Dad to me, and then back again. Then he cast his focus on the table.
Dad said nothing, so I didn’t either.
“There must have been a lot of poor to feed because those guys kept coming back every night during my patrol shift telling me they needed more. They’d give me bottles of Vodka as payment.” He stopped, a tear rolled down his face, his gaze lifted to Dad’s. “I heard about a pickup truck filled with animal pelts that left town a day or so ago. I wondered if that truck had anything to do with the men who wanted the wild game.”
“Did they happen to say the organization’s name that needed the meat?” Dad’s stern face sent a chill up my spine.
Oakly shook his head, and another tear ran down his face. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”
“Yes.” Dad sighed and leaned back in his chair, cracking his neck. “Why wouldn’t you ask for permission to give that meat away? It’s our Pryde’s sustenance.”
Oakly sat in silence. His hands lay on the table, fingers trembling.
“Tell me you culled the wildlife, targeting only the sick or elderly.”
He nodded, and then belted out a sob and blurted, “I started that way, but they kept coming back for more. I thought it was for a good cause. I thought you’d be proud.” He slammed his head down on his arms and broke down.
I’d never witnessed my brother shed a tear, ever, all the years we grew up together. My insides shook, wondering why it ended as it did with those men poisoning us.
Dad sat forward, his elbows on the table, his chin planted in his hands with forefingers centered over his lips. His eyes closed. The only sound in the room came from Oakly’s meltdown.
I patted Oakly on the back.
He straightened and flung my hand away. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You did, and you know it.” Dad’s eyes snapped open. “You gave away the Pryde’s sustenance without permission, you coerce without authority to strangers, and you’ve been drinking alcohol like its water and creating all kinds of hell because of it.” He dropped his fisted hands and glared at Oakly. “You and I are going to do some investigating tomorrow. We’re going to find where all of that meat ended up. Someone in town either processed it or bought it to sell if we’re lucky. If we’re not, we’ll be looking for a vast burial ground.” He stood, grim-faced, and walked around the table to Oakly. “Tell me about the human’s blood that was all over you. What happened?”
“Only one guy showed up at our meeting place. He ran at me with a knife and stabbed me in the chest, multiple times. My cougar kicked in, and so did my anger at being surprised. He wanted to kill me, and after all that I’d done for the cause.” He went to stand, and Dad pushed him back in the chair.
“So, there was only one man. And he witnessed you shift. Finish what happened.”
“I defended myself with claws and fangs. The guy dropped to the ground from his injuries. I ran away. As far as I could before falling over.”
“Looks like we have something else to find, a man who hopefully survived. Get up. You and I need to get a few things straight. Let’s do that on our way out to where you last saw the man you attacked.” Dad glanced my way. “Go feed the dogs and freshen their water. I don’t think any of them got much attention today from any of
us. They’re all in the pen.”
Dad gripped the back of Oakly’s neck and guided him out the front door.
My brother and I used to share everything, compete against each other for the hell of it, but that took a turn right after we’d graduated high school. A distance had grown between us, but I wouldn’t acknowledge it, until now. Why didn’t I pay more attention to him?
I went through the kitchen door into the garage and then out to the dog pen, our entire backyard. The dogs rushed me, except mama Sheba and her puppies.
“Settle Lancaster.” I bent to my knees so they could all say hello. “Hi, Buddy. You, too, Duke.” And then our little princess nuzzled me. “I love you, too, Morticia.” Her small body angled against my side, shoving me to move, a herding practice that all of our Border Collies used.
I filled their dishes with food and water, wondering all the time what Dad and Oakly found in the woods.
When I went back into the house, I stayed awake waiting for Dad and Oakly to return. Plus, someone needed to protect our guests. I couldn’t sleep anyway, my mind spun, full of thoughts like I’d had a hit of super-charge. Fairly sure Morgan’s blood still worked inside me, activating beneficial changes and abilities. The same thing must be going on in Oakly’s body too.
* * *
Morgan
I lay awake, staring at the ceiling and listening to most of the conversation between Oakly and his father, even though walls and distance separated us. Was unsure if my acute hearing ability had kicked in or Rowan’s thoughts shouted inside my head.
The front door opened and closed, and then another one sounded off. Dogs barked from behind the house, at least I thought it was in the backyard.
Rowan hadn’t shared much in the conversation. I put myself in Oakly’s place and wondered what kind of decision I would’ve made to help starving people. And, then about the human that attacked Oakly. I would have defended myself the best way I knew how like Oakly did.
Not being familiar with the ways of the cougar, I knew a few things from bits of old wisdom echoing inside my head, probably had something to do with the shifter blood activating. Intuition or instinct sent a burst of energy through me. I wanted to help find that human.
I quietly got up, found my clothes and wiggled into them, and then headed to the great room.
Rowan sat on the couch, looking up when I walked in. “What are you doing out of bed? You need all the rest you can get, busy day tomorrow.” He patted the spot beside him. “Or you can tell me why you’re still awake.” A gentle smile crossed his handsome face.
“I heard the conversation between your dad and Oakly.” I remained standing.
Rowan pressed his lips together, leaned back, and nodded but said nothing.
“Should we go help them find the injured man?”
“We should have been able to scent him, so my guess, he’s miles away from where we were tonight, on the opposite side of the property.”
“Sounds like a good place to start.”
“The thing is, how did the other two guys find Oakly? I’ve been sitting here thinking about all the possibilities. Those two guys came there looking for Oakly, maybe to take his body after hearing he’d shifted, which means the injured guy had to tell them.” Rowan stood. “But how would they get to him so fast? And when they got there, without any hesitation, one of the guys lifted his gun and fired.” Rowan’s hand automatically went to where he got shot, even though it had completely healed. “I heard them but assumed the sound came from a deer or bear that caught Oakly’s scent. I never smelled them. Maybe they used something that made them scent-free. They must have had equipment scanning the area to find us, something more than what they carried.”
“Sounds like scent-free stuff could be something hunters might use. Those two guys didn’t act smart enough to pull-off finding Oakly. There must be others involved.”
Rowan’s brows rose, and he nodded. “Not sure we should leave Becka here alone.”
“Are you kidding me? My aunt is a true Ninja. She shared her skill with me tonight, and I’ve no doubt my aunt can take care of herself.”
“Then let’s go search and find.”
* * *
Rowan
I barely kept up with Morgan. She fired into the forest like a launched rocket pointed east. Impressive stamina and agility, hard to believe she generated so much without sleep, but then our kind survived fine on little to no rest.
About ten miles in, I scented my father and Oakly. Morgan stood next to them when I ripped around a tree to catch up.
A few scents breezed around in the immediate area, bear, human, and our kind, more than Oakly’s smell. Some blood soaked the ground, but not a huge spot of it, no sign of a body.
“Maybe Leo and the Peacekeepers interrogated the two guys we handed over. I’ll check with Leo, maybe a little reconnaissance activity happened, like a clean-up crew came in.” Dad stepped away and got on the phone to Leo.
“I can’t believe how wide awake I am right now. Your dad is calling Leo, so he’s still awake. Does any shifter sleep around here?” Morgan arched a brow and placed a hand on her hip.
My heart stuttered when Oakly placed an arm around her shoulder. “Hey, back off. You know she’s off limits,” I said, glaring at my brother.
Oakly’s arm dropped to his side. “She’s like a sister to me.”
Morgan’s eyes widened at me and then she turned to Oakly. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Really?” I moved next to her and grabbed her hand, feeling an exchange of current between us. “Feel anything?”
She stared at me. “What? Are you going to tell me that we’re mates for life or something because we got this ‘charge my battery’ thing going on?”
“Something like that, yea.” I pulled her into my arms and our gazes connected. The world outside of us disappeared. Until, someone slapped the back of my head, hard. I broke apart from Morgan and turned, ready to beat someone’s butt.
Oakly grinned, and then sobered. “Not in front of spectators, okay.”
Dad walked back to us. “Leo did interrogate. He said one of those men squealed a lot of information about what’s been going on in this area, not just in our forest, but in a number of them throughout upper Michigan. There’s a huge business of wild game pelts, worth a lot of money overseas, exported out of Florida.” He nodded in the direction of home. “Let’s go. Leo and I are going to meet later in the morning. He’ll give me all the details of what went down.”
Oakly and Dad walked ahead of Morgan and me.
She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Little did I know my life wasn’t my truth, and everything about me would change when I moved to my aunt and uncle’s.”
“Guess I never thought about how it might be to grow up outside of the shifter populace when one is a shifter.” I honestly couldn’t imagine it.
“Let’s run back. I love the freedom of running at night, being able to see through a forest of trees.”
“I grant your desire, only don’t leave me in your dust, all right?”
She giggled and pulled me past Dad and Oakly.
“See ya back at the house,” I hollered over my shoulder as Morgan hit full-speed with me in tow.
Chapter Sixteen
Morgan
Oakly left with his dad for a meeting with Leo. When Aunt Becka drove back to her place at 5:00 a.m., Rowan and I ran through the forest to get there. We arrived about twenty minutes later.
My aunt already had breakfast going, and the smell made me salivate.
“Yum, need some help?” I asked as Rowan followed me into the kitchen.
“Oh, no, I’ve got this handled just fine.” She turned to us with bacon tongs in hand. “Go out and help Charlie. He’s not as agile when it comes to feeding all five of the fawn.” She stooped down in her stance used to feed the five fawns, and then glanced up at us. “Can you imagine Charlie doing this?” She let loose a belly laugh that startled us but at the same time, made Rowa
n and me respond in a giddy sound-off.
We headed back outside. The air felt warmer than last night, but still chilly enough for a sweatshirt. I wore a T-shirt and shorts, feeling comfortable in my skin despite the temperature.
Rowan grabbed my hand, and the usual current swept warmth up my arm and through my body. He squeezed it and pulled me in for a quick kiss.
“You’ve become wedged in my heart as a permanent resident,” he whispered against my lips. He broke away and his gaze captured mine, leaving me breathless. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Aren’t you sure-footed.” I grinned and stomped on his foot.
He hopped back from me. “Why would you do that? We were having a moment.”
“No, you were having a moment. We’re supposed to be inside this barn helping my uncle. Get over yourself and let’s get to work.” I flung the entry door to the barn open and hurried inside, leaving Rowan outside with his mouth hanging open.
Uncle Charlie already had the five-bottle-pose in the fawns’ pen, and he glanced at me when I strode to the entrance. “Hey,” he said, and a smile spread fast across his face. “This is the second day in a row I’m gifted with your presence.” He shuffled to his right a bit, appearing like he might tip over. One of the fawns liked to yank at the bottle and this morning that fawn fed from the bottle between Uncle Charlie’s knees.
Rowan came through the barn door and then rushed through the pen entrance to grab a bottle from one of my uncle’s hands.
I grasped the remaining two bottles from the carrier and headed off to feed Bambi and Faline. “Yes, I am a rare and precious gift,” I said over my shoulder as I entered the covered enclosure.
“Thanks,” Uncle Charlie said, and I wasn’t sure if he meant that for Rowan or me.
The fawn at the bottle between my uncle’s knees gave a good yank, and the bottle fell to the ground. “Okay, little guy, let’s get something straight, no need to get greedy, we’re all in this together.” He grabbed the bottle off the floor and continued the feeding.