Switching Gears: Coyote Bluff Series Book 3

by Lea Barrymire

  The thought, even for the animal side, caused a whine of pain deep in her chest. They both suffered the loss. Knowing that they would be alone forever now was not something either wanted to dwell on. To break that train of thought the bobcat hunched down over her meal, enjoying the meat as much as any predator would. They had all the time in the world to deal with Fate’s punishments. At the moment they would go day by day, eating, living and enjoying what they could.

  *****

  This time Zeke knew he was waking up and pushed his body to rouse faster. He had people to kill, a mate to chase down and no fucking time to mess around. The pain was less, breathing seemed easier and thank fuck his eyes opened. Looking around took him a moment to place the room he was in. Anger and frustration burned through the last sluggish bits of the medicine and he wasted no time trying to climb out of bed.

  The sound of the door opening and a harsh exhale didn’t slow him. He didn’t give a flying fuck who the fuck was coming through the fucking door. He had things to do. And a mate to find. And a fine ass to paddle for being so fucking noble all the fucking time.

  “I see your filter isn’t fully working.”

  Sarcasm. Zeke turned to his brother and growled. “Fuck you.”

  “Yeah, you’ve now said that a few times. I was sent in until Skip gets here. They all think for some strange reason that I can talk sense into your thick skull. Like that’s possible without someone tying you to the bed and sitting on you.”

  Zeke stared at his brother. And saw the tension in the other man’s shoulders. “Fuck you.”

  Pete sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Dude. You aren’t strong enough to get up and fight me. I’m not allowed to let you out of this room. So why don’t you dial back the aggression and listen for a few minutes.”

  Muscles screamed as he tried to roll to his side and push up to a sitting position. Fucking stupid body. He should have healed already and be kicking ass, but no, stupid thing wouldn’t get the lead out and mend. After another try and breaking out in a cold sweat Zeke collapsed back onto the bed, waving a limp hand at his brother. “Fine.”

  “Good. I really didn’t want to pin your weak ass to the bed like a girl.”

  “Not. The. Fucking. Time.” The growl was quite impressive, but Zeke knew when he was beat. And this time he wasn’t going to make anyone prove it.

  “We found the notebook.”

  Zeke blinked. “What?”

  “We. Found. The. Notebook.” Pete put an extra sharp ‘k’ on the end of his statement. He was smiling like a loon.

  They found the doodle of their agreement. Tears burned his eyes. “You did?”

  “Yeah. We did.” Pete’s grin slipped. “I’m so sorry we hadn’t looked before. We totally let you both down. Skip was so focused on finding a way for him to take a punishment for you and Amie that we—”

  “Wait. What? What was that about Skip?”

  Too much was being unloaded on him at once and his brain wasn’t functioning right. Shaking his head just rattled that same organ against the inside of his skull, so he tried to focus on the words.

  “Skip had been trying to find a way for you two to break the edict. We never thought in a million years that Ames would take off on her own.”

  “Idiots. Of course she would. The woman is a huge fan of martyrdom. I’m sure she completely convinced herself that everything from the dinosaurs’ demise to those fucking wolves coming on pack land was her fault.” A shot of pain made Zeke suck in a quick breath. “And fuuuck. I hurt.”

  “Yep. And if you don’t stop thrashing around I’ll have Margie put another dart in your stubborn hide.” Skip’s voice echoed down the hallway and held more than a touch of amusement.

  Pete grinned and turned to face the doorway. “Better hurry up, Alpha. He’s been spewing vulgarity at me and threatening me.”

  Zeke couldn’t help it. It was something they would have done to each other when they were kids and trying to get each other in trouble with their mom. He flung his middle-finger-flying hand up at his brother and dropped it a moment before the Alpha came through his door. Zeke tried to get a look of innocence on his face in time, but from the smirk the other man flashed him there wasn’t anything at all about the look that said innocent.

  “Good to see you awake, man.” Skip nodded at Pete, as he moved to the bed. “We’re gonna get her back. I’m so sorry. She never said anything about you guys signing something.”

  The question in his friend’s voice pissed Zeke off, but he understood. If she’d known then why hadn’t she said anything? He knew a sheepish smile spread across his face. “Because she didn’t know. She’d doodled that agreement and signed it so many times in so many different ways. When she was sleeping I was snooping and being a creepy boyfriend. I signed it and closed the pages. Hoping she’d see it after breakfast, or I’d show it to her. Surprise.”

  Pete scoffed and tried to cover it with a cough. Skip just stared and blinked, finally finding his voice. “She didn’t know? So she really did leave to save me and because of some stupid guilt? For fuck’s sake.”

  The glass container of tongue depressors didn’t stand a chance against the Alpha’s anger. It smashed into the drywall, partially embedding in the stuff with the rest shattering and tinkling to the ground.

  “I am going to make every single person in this community take communication classes. What in the ever loving hell?” The man stalked to the hallway, bellowing for the doctor and then turned back to the room. “You,” he pointed at Pete, “Go get Connor now. I want to know where we stand on the search for Amie.”

  Pete nodded and took off at a sprint, his footsteps loud against the quiet of the clinic. The silence must have pissed off Skip because he thudded to the doorway again. “Erik Garrison, if you don’t want to be a chew toy you will get your ass in here now.”

  Zeke lay in the bed, still blown away by the last few minutes. Amie had run, but she hadn’t known about the impromptu agreement. Skip and Connor had been tracking her down. They’d found the paper with their two signatures and Amie’s loving words.

  “Things are going to be okay aren’t they?” He didn’t really ask anyone in particular but he felt hope blooming in his chest. They’d find her, he’d make her understand, promise never to run again, mate her under the eyes of the Goddess and they’d finally have the life they should have had for the last few months.

  “Yeah as soon as we find your girl. She gave us the slip a few days ago and we don’t know where she is.”

  He could hear the wheels on his well-being screeching to a halt. Smoke bellowing from the tires and the smell of burning brakes filled his nose. “You guys don’t know where she is?”

  Skip ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “No. She’s a damn sneaky cat. We tracked her to a motel in Kentucky and then nothing. She’d left her clothes, food, everything. We’re pretty sure she took off in cat form. We have permission from the local pack there to snoop around, but we couldn’t find a trail at all. It’s like she vanished from the side of the road. Poof. Like smoke.”

  He’d find her. He knew his woman was sneaky, but he had a feeling the cat side was even more so. She’d had to be, to keep them alive when Amie had been a little girl. “We need to leave now. Help me up.”

  “No can do, buddy. Doc needs to clear you before I let you out of this place. And even then we aren’t going to be heading to Kentucky right away. You need time to—”

  “Find my mate. I am not waiting. So either you guys are helping me or I’ll get Margie and Cammie to help me. They’ll shoot your asses for trying to keep me from going after her, and then what? Shot down by a couple of human women? Hmm? I’d never, ever, ever let any of you live it down.”

  Zeke knew he was going to get his way, and probably already had Skip’s help, but once the women were brought up a slight shudder of apprehension shot down the big-bad-Alpha’s back. Yeah, you didn’t mess with those two broads, ever. And definitely not about mates.


  “Fine. But you will let us come with you and will not push me when I say we need you to rest. You still look like shit, man, and I’m never going to get the image of your still body lying there, bleeding out all over the fucking woods out of my mind. I’m done with near death for my friends.”

  Zeke would have agreed to anything if it meant they’d leave soon on their hunt for Amie. If he was right, the cat would have gotten them into woods someplace and hunkered down. She’d give the human side time to deal with the loss and the pain, but Amie would need to find a way to claw back into control. The longer the cat was in charge the harder that would be. Especially because they didn’t have a good connection in the first place. Something else he’d work on with her.

  “Deal. Now, where are my pants?”

  *****

  The bobcat stretched, feeling the small pops along its spine, and yawned so big her jaw crunched. Lips pulled up and away from mighty canines and she chuffed before giving a paw a lick. Another day or two had passed without even the glimpse of another predator in the patch of forest she’d claimed. They must have feared her.

  Or there just aren’t any around you smug thing.

  Amie had been more vocal lately, and even tried to be squeamish when they ate a nice fat squirrel. But even with all the comments echoing from the recesses of her kitty brain, the human didn’t really want to come back out. She was quiet, thoughtful and peaceful as they shared some time together.

  Ignoring her person-side was easy. They had things to do. First a drink, then to find a nice piece of sunshine to clean her spotted coat. Then would be some hunting and a nice juicy meal to top off their day. Simple.

  As she stalked silently through the underbrush a faint scent of human tickled her nose, but the man wasn’t hers, nor anyone she’d met before. Filing away the smell for later, in case he came closer to one of her dens, she continued on her slow meander toward the creek.

  Being in tune with nature was easy and exhilarating. For once everything around them was alive and watching. They ruled their little slice of forest. She ate when she wanted, slept where she wanted, and napped as often as they wanted. Nothing could be better.

  Mate.

  The twinge of pain caused her to trip over her paws and she caught herself in a stumble before falling. Her mate. The bloom in her chest was from both sides of them and it was harsh, nearly debilitating. But they fought through it just as they’d done every time the thoughts entered their mind. They’d caused the separation of them from their mate. Mooning and yowling over the loss wouldn’t change that.

  The moss-covered rock beckoned and, after a quick drink, the cat settled down to groom herself, forgetting for a time the call of their mate and the need they both had to be with him, The rhythmic licking and tugging at stubborn sticky seeds took their mind from the man.

  Better this way.

  The thought could have been either of theirs and they both nodded. Yes. Better this way.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Standing over my shoulder and growling at me isn’t going to make this go any faster. Step. Back.” Connor’s voice was quiet and deadly. He’d been awake for close to seventy-two hours looking for Amie or any trace of her. Every favor he could call in had been made days before.

  Zeke stepped away from his friend, and sheepishly apologized. “Sorry man. I just… I just need something to go right. I’m going insane and my coyote is about ready to burst through my chest and go after her.”

  Skip answered from the doorway, “We know. And as soon as we have anything at all you know we’ll all be out after her.”

  The connecting hotel rooms were disgusting. Dirty, smelly and if he’d been more concerned for their safety he’d say they were infested with a million yucky, squirmy things. But he’d sleep in a coffin of cockroaches if it meant he could see Amie. Okay, maybe not cockroaches. They were horrible. He shuddered.

  “Stop thinking about the rooms, man, or you won’t be able to sleep or eat later.” Connor piped up without turning from his computer.

  The room Amie had last used was one of the ones they’d rented, hoping against hope that she might come back. The others they’d taken over were next to hers. Command post was full of computers, phones, chargers and empty chip bags. Connor liked to munch, a lot, when he was researching.

  A cell phone buzzed and every person in the room reached for their cells at the same time. Jason, the wolf ex-Alpha looked at his and frowned. “It’s mine.” Without another word he wandered out to the balcony and down a few rooms. Shifter hearing was a bitch to get away from.

  Zeke watched him go and was once again impressed with the man’s calm strength. It’d taken both Skip and Jason working against Zeke’s coyote to keep him from bolting into the woods, completely feral. The men had sat up for hours taking turns talking or offering comfort. The other Alpha had been amazing, giving freely of his time and being patient as Zeke unleashed some colorful language.

  The fact that Jason did all this without a real position in their pack was a good indication of the type of leader he’d been. Zeke hoped that at the next full moon they’d be seeing the other man become a beta. They needed a place for him in the pack. Especially now that Libby had been calling a couple of times a day. Sure, Jason was good at walking far enough that they couldn’t hear the conversation, but that hadn’t stopped Zeke from looking at the screen every time. If their most reclusive and hurting female had started reaching out to the wolf then it was high time the pack helped along the relationship.

  As Jason wandered back into the room another cellphone rang. This time no one went for theirs. It was Connor’s. Amie had programmed it months before to play a rousing chorus of It’s Raining Men and so far the sheriff hadn’t been able to fix it.

  “Yeah.”

  We’ve had a report of a bobcat in the area. Caught on trail cams three days in a row.

  Zeke jumped and nearly grabbed the phone. Only a hard arm wrapped around his bruised ribs kept him from ripping the electronic device from the other man. “Where? Fuck Skip, let me go. Where did they see her?”

  Connor turned in his chair and raised a brow. Zeke deflated. “Sorry.”

  The sheriff turned back and calmly pulled up a map of the area. “Okay, lay it on me. You have coords?”

  Zeke watched, frantic for information, as Connor scratched a mess of numbers on piece of paper and then started plugging them into the internet-based map. Seconds seemed to become hours as each digit took a lifetime to be entered. A growl erupted from his chest and, before he could try to lunge at his friend, a dark arm wrapped around him from the other side and he was pulled against a neck, his head cradled like a child and his nose held against the skin.

  “Breathe.”

  He didn’t want to listen to Jason. Didn’t want to be calmed, but the clawing inside subsided. It was getting harder to keep his human form, and he feared letting his coyote out now would be disastrous. Making his lungs expand and pull the Alpha’s scent into his body got easier, relaxing his muscles and stilling the gnawing need. Even Zeke didn’t know what he needed, but every second was a pile of pain and he felt he needed to be in motion, doing something; looking, hunting, finding.

  After a few moments of just breathing, Zeke’s other senses kicked back in and he caught the last few words of Connor’s conversation. “Yeah we’d love a copy. Thanks man, I owe you.”

  Pushing away from a motivated Alpha wolf was impossible. Zeke determined that after trying a couple of times. Eventually he sighed and just talked into the other man’s neck. “Do we have her?”

  The large hand on the back of Zeke’s head released slowly. He backed one step and then another from the other man. “Good thing I’m not overly concerned with my masculinity,” he muttered under his breath, earning himself a grunt and flash of white teeth from Jason. “Dude. Did we find her?”

  Connor looked at Skip first then slowly nodded. “I think so. I’m waiting for a copy of the photos to come. If you can identify her
from them then yeah, we’ve got her. She was there last night.”

  Relief swamped him so fast his knees almost collapsed. “Thank the Goddess.”

  *****

  Unease had been crawling under her fur all morning. It’d turned into an itch just out of reach. Nothing they did made it stop. Was something watching them? The bobcat had climbed a mature pine and sat still as stone for hours but nothing ever changed. They’d sat so long that hunger gnawed at them, but even then she stayed. Eventually their hunger and curiosity won out. If sitting still wasn’t going to draw out whatever it was they could sense, then maybe hunting would.

  For once the bounce and strike at a rabbit had been too zealous and they’d lost their dinner into a bramble of thorns. Shaking off the failure was easy, but going hungry for the night wasn’t going to be so fun. By the time the rabbit had holed up and the cat decided thorns in her paws sucked too much to continue rummaging under the bushes, it was dark. A new moon gave nothing but starlight and not much of that filtered through the thick cover above.

  Wandering away from her normal sleeping den made her feel a little better, but the eyes were still on her. The human side thought maybe they were becoming paranoid, but the bobcat knew. Instincts bred into every line of animals from the beginning of time were going off. But staying the night in a tree, with the possibility of falling out, or sleeping under bushes made her kitty nose scrunch. She wanted the safety of a den, walls of stone and a single point of attack to defend.

  Instead of slowly treading toward the newer hole she took off, sprinting into the night, extending her gait until she felt like she was flying. The limited light was enough for her to see well, dodging trees and brush easily enough. Even the small twigs and thorns she couldn’t see glanced off her glossy coat. She’d pick the rest out with her teeth in the morning. The need to escape was riding her animal instincts hard.