by Ravenna Tate
“We do.” It was actually a relief to finally talk about that aspect of it with his two best friends. “Even though I forgave her for lying to me about who she really is, I know in her heart she wishes she’d come clean right away.”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” said Arizona, quietly. “The outcome is still the same. Don’t think for one second I truly believed this was over for Gillian once I had killed Josh and Ricky.”
Fresh guilt washed over Stone. “I’d never looked at it that way before. This didn’t begin with Makenna having to lie about her ancestry all her life.”
“No, it didn’t,” said Canyon. “It began with the legend. And here in this village, it began when Thomas David and Jarvis Medina broke mating law by arranging a marriage between their children, and then killed Talia when she protested.”
“I can’t tell you both how relieved I am to know you don’t blame Makenna for this.”
“I won’t tell you I wasn’t upset to learn she’d lied,” said Arizona. “So was Gillian at first.”
“She had a right to be. If Makenna had told me the truth, you four wouldn’t have gone to that village looking for me. Josh and Ricky wouldn’t have seen Gillian.” Stone couldn’t finish the thought.
“We’ve been over this before,” said Arizona. “She doesn’t blame you or Makenna for what happened. Sooner or later, because the Medina women had told them everything that had happened here, that group would have come looking for Gillian. Nothing Makenna could have done or said to you would have changed that.”
“I agree,” said Canyon. “Their course was set as soon as the Medina women showed up and began talking. The only thing Makenna could have changed by telling you right away was the timing.”
“And I still would have kept it from you two. I still wouldn’t have said anything, in order to protect her and keep her safe.” Stone’s mind raced with that realization. “You’re right. Both of you. The outcome would have been the same.”
Arizona clapped him on the back. “All right, then. We’re all in agreement. Let’s get back to living our lives and protecting the women we love.”
****
The full moon in February was also a blood moon. The closer it drew, the more uneasy Stone and his friends became. Canyon suggested it was because they were each blood moon lynxes, but none of them truly believed that. The significance of the approaching date was not lost on their mates, either.
The day on which it would fall was a Saturday, and even though none of the men planned to go into work, they did normally go out to hunt during such an event. This year, however, they each promised their mates they’d stay home.
All of them gathered in the Benedict home for breakfast that morning. What should have been a meal filled with lively conversation was rather quiet. The talk stayed so far away from the moon and the leopard village, that when they said anything at all, it was pointless or mundane.
The only one missing from the table was Cletus, who had gone into town early. He’d told his parents that one of the Council members had some work around the yard he needed done.
When Cletus still hadn’t returned hours after they’d finished eating, Stone took Arizona and Canyon aside, outside where the others were less likely to hear him. “I think we should shift and go into the woods to have a look around.”
“And leave our mates?” Arizona shook his head. “No. No way.”
“Luke is here. We’ll alert the patrols to what we plan on doing so they can move closer to the houses. We won’t be gone long.”
“I’d feel better doing it if Cletus was here, too,” said Canyon. “Let’s at least wait for his return.”
“He might be gone all day,” said Arizona. “You know how he is.” Arizona scooped up three small twigs and broke one in half. “If you really want to do this, I don’t think all three of us should go at the same time. Two are enough. One of us needs to stay behind. We’ll draw for it.”
After he rolled the three twigs between his palms until it was no longer possible to determine which one was shortest, he told Stone and Canyon to draw first. Arizona was left with the shortest twig. “It’s settled. I’ll stay behind. Go now, before anyone inside the house gets suspicious.”
“We’ll be back soon,” said Stone. He and Canyon shifted and ran. Along the way, they stopped and shifted back to human form each time they encountered a patrol, to let them know what was going on. There were a dozen men in the woods on their side of the village this morning, which made Stone feel a lot better about his plan.
After they’d alerted each patrol, they shifted back to lynx form and made their way along the northern border of the village, looking for any sign of the leopards. They had agreed ahead of time to scout both the northern and southern borders first, and leave the western border for last. That was the one facing the direction of the leopard village.
In this form, he and Canyon were able to communicate without words. As they scouted, Stone let his mind wander to Makenna. He pictured her beautiful face, and her big, expressive eyes. Her abdomen was barely rounded now, but the pregnancy had given her the same glow evident in the faces and auras of both Gillian and Fiera. Was there anything more perfect in this world than a woman carrying her alpha’s child inside her womb? Stone didn’t believe so.
Canyon shifted back to human form, so Stone did the same. “Nothing east, north, or south. Is it worth it to take a look at the western border?”
“Is there suddenly a reason you don’t want to?”
“No, nothing concrete. I simply have an urge to return. We’ve been gone nearly an hour as it is.”
Stone sniffed the air, but the only scent he caught was Canyon’s. The breeze blew from the south, which meant it would be easier to miss a leopard’s scent from the west, but there was no reason to tempt fate more than they had already. “All right let’s go back. At the very least, we know there is no threat from three sides.”
They decided to backtrack along the southern perimeter as they made their way east toward home, instead of running through town in shifted form. They hadn’t gone more than a few hundred yards when both stopped and turned around at the same time. Still in his lynx form, Stone sniffed the air. Next to him, Canyon did the same.
Leopards! More than one scent, too.
Both men glanced toward each other, and without having to say it, they turned north and ran toward the western edge of their village.
Chapter Twelve
More than an hour after Stone had gone outside with Arizona and Canyon, Makenna grew restless. Arizona had come back into the house briefly before returning to the outdoors, and she assumed the three men were still out there, but now wondered what they were doing.
She walked over to one of the windows facing the back of the home, and tried not to panic when she didn’t see them. They could be anywhere. After walking from window to window, she finally spotted Arizona chopping wood, but didn’t see Stone or Canyon. Where had they gone?
“What’s going on?”
Makenna jumped at the sound of Gillian’s voice behind her. “I wish I knew. Those three went outside well over an hour ago, but now I can only see Arizona.”
“Canyon and Stone probably went to your house or ours.”
“For what reason?”
Gillian shrugged. “I don’t know, but there’s no reason to worry. They all promised they’d stay close today.”
Makenna had the feeling Stone and Canyon were not on the Benedict property at all, but she couldn’t say why, so she decided not to share that feeling with Gillian. Instead, she took her seat again and picked up the sweater she’d been knitting, but her grip on the needles was clumsy and she felt nauseous for the first time in two months. Something was very wrong.
Again she fought against rising panic, but this time the sensation was stronger than before. She put down the knitting and walked outside to where Arizona stood, sniffing the air toward the center of town. Toward the west. What did he detect? She didn’t smell anythi
ng unusual.
“Where are Stone and Canyon?”
At first, Arizona gave her a patronizing look that angered her. She opened her mouth, intending to give him hell for looking at her that way, but didn’t have to. Gillian was at her side again, her hands on her hips as she glared at her mate.
“What’s going on, Arizona? Where did they go?”
He dropped the axe on the ground and shook his head slightly. “We didn’t want you to worry. They went out to scout the woods. Everyone feels uneasy today.”
“You told us you’d stay here,” said Gillian. “All of you.”
“I know we did. I—”
A sudden gust of wind from the southeast drew Arizona’s attention. Gillian frowned, following her mate’s gaze toward the woods. Makenna sniffed the air, and nearly passed out from fear. “So many of them…”
“So many of what?” Gillian looked thoroughly confused.
“Get inside.” Arizona’s tone left no doubt he expected his command to be obeyed. “Now!”
“Will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?”
Makenna grabbed Gillian’s arm and pulled her along as she ran for the back door of the home. Luke was already heading outside, holding his crossbow, and the women nearly collided with him. Inside the house, Leah was herding her two youngest daughters into a closet.
Lena and Fiera emerged from somewhere in the house, each holding two bows and two quivers. Fiera handed one of each to Makenna. “You know how to use this, right?
Makenna nodded. She did, but she hadn’t fired a bow in months.
Lena handed one of the bows and quivers to her mother, who glanced toward Gillian. “Get into the closet with the girls.”
“What? No way! Give me a weapon.”
“There’s no time to teach you to shoot. Get in there, now.”
Makenna had never heard Leah speak that way, but understood why she was doing this. They needed to keep Gillian safe and hidden. Gillian glared at each of them in turn, but finally went into the closet with Lulu and Lissie, mumbling under her breath about crazy shifters.
Leah gave Makenna a searching look. “Are you sure you want to fight? They’ve come here for you as well as Gillian.”
“They’ve come here for all of us.”
****
As Stone and Canyon reached the western edge of the village, they shifted back and forth quickly, alerting each of the patrols they encountered along the way. As a group, most of the men gathered closer together, while Canyon, Stone, and five patrols ran door to door, alerting the villagers.
In his mind, Stone knew there was no time to alert everyone, and all he really wanted to do was go home to Makenna. He was already exhausted from what he and Canyon had tried to do in such a short time. His place was with his mate.
“Let the others finish,” he said. The villagers had taken Stone’s and Canyon’s lead and were now going to door to door. “Let’s get back to our mates.”
At first, Stone thought Canyon was going to protest. They both watched for several seconds while dozens of people raced around, knocking on doors. Their work here was done.
Having no clue where Cletus was, they’d left Makenna, Fiera, Gillian, Leah, Lulu, and Lissie alone with Luke and Arizona as the only males. Stone knew that Leah, Fiera, and Makenna could shoot a bow, but he should be there with her. And Canyon should be with Fiera.
“You’re right. Let’s go.”
Filled with relief at those words, he shifted next to Canyon and the two ran east toward home.
****
Makenna crouched below the sill of an open window facing east. In the next room, Fiera did the same below one facing south, and Leah had taken position at a north-facing window. Arizona and Luke were outside on the front porch. From her vantage point, Makenna was able to see them, standing tall and brave, bows already drawn.
Where were Canyon and Stone right now? Were they on their way back? Had they been killed already? No! She would not allow her thoughts to go there. She couldn’t. He was alive. They both were. They had to be.
The sound of twigs crashing reached her ears seconds before she saw Cletus, running toward the property, leading a group of shifters. No wonder their combined scents had confused her. She watched, fascinated, as dozens of male lynxes, cougars, jaguars, and leopards shifted back to human form.
But who were they? And why were they here?
“Lower your weapons!” shouted Luke. He ran down the front steps of the porch to greet his younger son. “Who are these men?”
A huge grin split Cletus’s rugged face. “They’re from the village west of the leopard one. They’re here to help us, but we haven’t much time. The leopards are already on their way.”
Luke glanced around at the men. “We need more weapons.”
“They can fight without them. There are fifty leopards coming.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Cletus glanced around, motioning over a tall man. “This is Daniel. He’s a blood moon lynx, like us. He led a small group that went to the village to spy on the leopards, several days ago.”
“Why did you do that?” asked Luke.
“Because Cletus is my friend, and when he told us what was going on here, we agreed to help.”
“Thank you. But why are there only fifty males coming from the leopard village? They have nearly three hundred males living there.”
“Most of the people don’t want war. They say blood has paid for blood, and that to take on our village will only bring more death to their own people. Only the group who has taken the legend to heart is still determined to die for their cause, if necessary.”
As Makenna listened to this exchange, she wondered if Cletus or Daniel knew where Stone and Canyon were. She rose, intending to go outside and ask, but was stopped from doing so when Fiera and Lena came into the room.
“We need to hide with the others,” said Lena.
“Why? We have weapons. We can fight.”
Fiera took Makenna’s bow and quiver. “And we’re both with child. There are at least three dozen men out there.”
“And only two of them have weapons.”
“Not for long.” Fiera walked out onto the porch and handed the bows and quivers to Luke, who gave them to a few of the men. When she returned to the house, she took Makenna’s hand. “Come on. You know you can’t win this argument.”
“Aren’t you worried about Canyon? He and Stone aren’t back yet.”
Guilt washed over Makenna at the look of fear that passed through Fiera’s eyes. “They’ll be here.”
“Go, you two,” said Lena. “Please.”
“What about you?” asked Makenna.
“I’ll be along in a moment.”
Makenna was caught in the infamous Benedict female trap, and she knew it. Even once inside the closet, she hardly felt safe. And she wouldn’t feel that way until she knew that her mate was alive and well.
She closed her eyes and concentrated all her mental energy on Stone. She willed him to come to her, unharmed. To lose him now, after all they’d gone through, was unthinkable. She pictured holding him in her arms, all of this behind them, so they could bear children and live their lives together as it was meant to be.
That was the image she’d keep in her mind now. That was the fervent wish she’d hang onto.
Chapter Thirteen
When Stone and Canyon reached the center of town, the large group that had formed was close behind them. They stayed long enough to hear Laredo and Hidalgo ring the bells in the square, calling all the residents together.
“Now they’ll rally everyone and head for our property,” said Canyon. “But we should stay in case they run into opposition from anyone, so we can explain.”
A shiver ran down Stone’s spine as he swore he heard Makenna’s voice in his head, calling him. “I want to go now. We need to be sure our mates are safe. The others can smell leopards approaching as easily as we can. They’ll know Laredo and Hidalgo speak the
truth.”
Canyon nodded once before the pair headed for the eastern edge of the village. As they approached the property, Stone caught the scent of multiple shifters, but it confused him because they weren’t all leopards. Had a different group approached from another direction?
How was that possible? He and Canyon would have seen or heard them. Had they been waiting until the pair passed to attack the village? But why would they do that when they’d have had the perfect chance to take them both out?
When Stone noticed Luke and Cletus standing apart from a large group of males, he let out a growl of relief and shifted to human form. Canyon did the same. Luke spotted them and sprinted over.
“These are men from the other village that Cletus mentioned. They’re here to help us.”
“But I thought—”
“We were wrong. All of us. Cletus told us they’ve been spying on the leopards all week. The leopard group on their way is only fifty strong. No one else in their village wants this war.”
Stone glanced around. “We easily outmatch them in numbers.” He and Canyon told Luke about the group close behind them, as well as the fact that Hidalgo and Laredo were likely leading them by now.
“We will be victorious.”
As Stone began to speak again, he heard his mate’s voice. Makenna and Fiera came bounding down the front steps. Tears ran down Makenna’s face, and the coming fight was forgotten as he ran to embrace his mate.
“I was so afraid,” she said, her words muffled as she buried her face against his chest.
“I’m sorry. Canyon, Arizona, and I didn’t want to worry any of you. We didn’t expect to be gone so long. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You’re here now.”
As soon as she said it, the sound of running reached their ears. She clung to him as they turned to watch dozens of men from their village, most carrying weapons, descend on the property.
“Stone, I want to help fight.”
“No. Get back inside with Fiera. The leopards aren’t far behind. I don’t want them to see you. Where is Gillian?”