When the river came into view, she immediately saw what she was looking for and without even thinking, she ran right into the water, praying that her selfishness hadn’t just cost the person floating in the water their life. Jenna kept going, fighting the current, trying to get to the person, praying they were still alive, the mantra, please, please, please echoing through her mind. Jenna realized she wasn’t going to get to them this way. Trudging back to shore, she started running as soon as her feet hit the rocky bank. The heavy wet clothes hampered her efforts, but she had finally gotten ahead of the person at a bend in the river. Wading in, she tried to position her body, so they would run right into her, not prepared for the person to be as big as they were, the momentum knocking her back down into the waist-deep water, pulling her under.
Determined, she held tight to the man’s leg, trying to get some kind of traction on the rocky bottom. Her foot finally landed on a bigger rock, stopping her body from moving against her will. Using every bit of strength, she had, she pushed the unmoving body out of the faster current into the shallows. Gritting her teeth, Jenna pulled harder, ignoring the pain in her arms and legs and the bruises she knew were forming from the hit she had taken. There was no way she was going to give up on whoever this person was, they deserved better than this. From how rigid his body was, she doubted the man was alive. If that were the case, she would contact the authorities, so he could have a proper burial, instead of floating endlessly in the water.
It took forever until Jenna finally had the large man out of the water and barely onto the shore. Not thinking twice, Jenna immediately pulled her gloves off, leaving on the thin protective layer she always wore. It was a specially made, rubber-type glove, just for her, light enough to allow for touch but also clear enough for people not to immediately notice them. Placing her fingers on his wrist, she searched for his pulse. Not finding the thump of his heartbeat, she crawled forward placing her fingertips against his neck. She almost cried when she felt the faint, slow beat.
“You’re going to make it,” she whispered in a strangled voice. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure you get through this.” Pulse found, she looked for respirations and found none, immediately starting CPR, thankful for the first time in a long time she had become a nurse.
She knew she had other things to worry about, but the main one right now was getting this man breathing. She felt his body lurch under hers and used her own body to push him over onto his side. The sound of him coughing up the river water was music to her ears. She patted his big back, trying to help, needing to keep in contact with him. As he coughed, she looked at him, really looked and was astonished. She wasn’t a small woman, rather average, but he was a huge freaking man. Looking back at the water, she had to wonder how in the hell she managed to get him to shore by herself without any help.
He had to be well over six and a half feet tall and bulkier than any man she had ever seen before, and she knew a few who were huge. When his coughing stopped, Jenna panicked. She had expected him to move or moan or something, but his body was still. Pulling him back, she checked to make sure he was still breathing. He was, but it was shallow. Checking for his pulse again, it was slow, even slower than what it was before. She was going to lose him if she didn’t do something and quick. Jenna didn’t have the first clue who this man was, but for some reason, she knew he deserved better than this.
Peeling off the last layer of protection on her hands, Jenna ripped open his shirt, noticing for the first time the three bullet holes littering his abdomen and chest. Grateful for only a second none of them were still bleeding, Jenna held her hands over his body. She had one moment of hesitation when she thought, please don’t let me be wrong this time before placing her hands on his chest and pushing her so-called gift through him. She could feel the warmth coursing through her body into his. She looked down at her hands and noticed the skin she was touching was starting to change from the blue of hypothermia to a healthy pink.
Her gift or curse like she thought of it was to heal. She could heal anyone, but it always took a piece of herself with it if she wasn’t careful. She could only give so much before the drain on her body and soul pulled her under. Feeling the burn on her stomach and chest, she knew she was making progress. But there was something else pulling even more power from herself. She delved further, and what she found scared the crap out of her. This wasn’t just a man. She knew immediately she was in trouble; her family would be coming sooner rather than later.
He wasn’t just a man, he was special, beyond special. The gorgeous, blue-tinged man was a shifter. What Jenna couldn’t figure out was why his animal, from what she could tell a bear, wasn’t helping him heal and get through this. Letting more of her gift out, Jenna searched for the spirit within the man. She found it so deep, she was surprised the two were still joined and the beast was very pissed off at his host. The bear was lashing out at anything he could, including her and her energy and stealing what the man had left.
Jenna pleaded with the animal spirit in her mind, but the beast wasn’t responding to anything she was doing. If he could only shift, she wouldn’t have to worry about him, he would heal almost immediately. She pushed her healing energy at the animal and prayed it would work, but it only took more and more from her, and Jenna knew she needed to stop. Cutting the beast off entirely from her energy, Jenna concentrated on the man, pushing her now weaker power through him to get him through the next few minutes. Jenna would deal with the beast later, much later. Pulling her hands away, Jenna did a quick visual assessment and deemed her patient healthy enough to travel, not that either of them had much choice in that.
Taking a couple of seconds, she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened and who this man was but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. No, right now, she needed to get him inside, and there was absolutely no way she could do it on her own or in her current condition. Getting up, every bone, muscle, and joint hurt, but she didn’t let that stop her. She started to walk away but couldn’t just leave him without saying something. Running back, Jenna crouched down, placed her hand on the man’s cheek, leaned down, and kissed his other one.
“Don’t worry, I will be back for you,” she whispered. Before she could right herself, the man whispered one word, well not a word, a name, Jessie.
Falling back onto her butt Jenna was shocked at the name she had just heard, Jessie; it echoed through her mind like a shot. She could only shake her head in denial, thinking there was no way in hell that this man, this bear Shifter she pulled out of the water was who she thought. It couldn’t be.
Chapter Three
Tensing, Cash tried to get his body to move—first his legs, then his arms and hands—but nothing was working. Panicking, he pushed harder but only managed a small jerk to his neck, causing his head to once again dip under the water, relieved when it came right back up. He could feel the icy cold water sitting in his lungs, attempting to suffocate him, his body so unwilling to cooperate, he couldn’t even manage the smallest of coughs to bring the shit up. Cash knew he was in a desperate situation, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out how to get the hell out of it.
This was his worst fucking nightmare, helpless to do anything while the people he loved suffered. At least that was what he thought because his mind wasn’t cooperating with him. As his useless body floated, he pushed harder, trying to remember anything that could explain what was happening. He remembered the crash, panicked, then reminded himself that Rye, Bas, and Sky had made it out. He remembered the snake and the shots. It felt like déjà vu, he remembered doing the same things before. Emerald eyes kept flashing in his mind. Every time he did, he remembered a small detail. But he had to question himself, had that shit really happened or was his mind finally broken?
Emerald eyes, warmth, and thoughts flooded his head and body—sun shining, a field of flowers, and a small woman looking at him, sad eyes and the need to help. Who the hell was that woman? Why could he see those eyes w
hen everything else was so jumbled? Did he even know her? Her words echoed in his mind, I will not let you die. Cash felt like he was going insane. He wanted to scream. Well, damn it, if you’re going to do something, now would be a good time, but just as before, no words came through his mouth.
He was existing in a virtual hell, but his mind had decided to conjure up a woman, no bigger than a child to what, save his ass? It was fucking ridiculous.
Cash felt the impact a second before he was, once again, forced under the water. This time though he wasn’t lucky enough to be righted. He could feel the water filling his lungs and the black dots forming in his vision. Snapshots of the people he loved flashed in his mind. Jacks and the guys laughing as they sat at the table at Alpha base having a beer. Dalton holding baby McKenna as Emma looked at both of them with love. Wyatt and Skylar teasing each other, smiling and laughing at their own private jokes. The way both Skylar and Bas had looked at each other with longing and love before they turned away and pretended those feelings didn’t exist. Jacks and Rye snuggling together on the couch as they talked to their unborn child. If he could have laughed, he would have because your life really did flash before your eyes right before you died. Fuck it, this was not the end, he wouldn’t allow it! he screamed in his head.
Cash could feel himself being pulled or pushed, he wasn’t exactly sure, it was just pressure on his leg and body, not exactly a feeling. Panicked, he tried to open his eyes, but unlike before, he couldn’t. He tried harder, thinking that if his mind worked, he should be able to do something, anything, but nothing happened. No matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn’t listen to his commands.
It was like he was trapped within his own body, helpless to do anything. No sight, sound, or smell, just there. Conscious but unconscious, alive but dead. What the fuck no one, Cash thought, not even he deserved this type of hell. He felt the pressure again, but this time, it was different, harder like his body colliding with something. Had he hit a tree or a rock? Was he still even floating in the damn river? Every question he could think of he couldn’t answer because he was nothing and nowhere at the same time.
Cash tried again pushing himself further, reaching for his beast and the power that always surrounded him, but the bastard wasn’t there. It was like his mind hit a brick wall every time. For the first time in his life, he was entirely alone, and he didn’t like it very much. His beast was a moody, demanding fucker, but he was Cash’s, and now that he was gone, it was fucking with his head. It made him feel helpless, and that didn’t sit well with him ever; it also made him feel alone. He hated being alone, had since he was a child. He needed people around him. The Elders said that was because he was an Alpha. Alpha’s needed a clan, but Cash never once believed that because he had proven them wrong.
Cash pushed those thoughts away. If he was going to be eaten, he didn’t want to think about the past. He had always been grateful, and he knew that he was a good man. People would remember him fondly at least he hoped they would. So, what if he ignored his destiny? Who was to say it wasn’t meant for another time or place? Hell, maybe another lifetime.
No, he wanted to concentrate on more morbid things like what the fuck was dragging him now. If he could have chuckled, he would have, but no voice meant no laugh. Had the predator finally become the prey? Had he fought his Alpha nature all these years just be become lunch for some lesser animal? The bigger question why didn’t he care?
Now that the initial panic was gone, and he knew there wasn’t anything he could do or fight, he just accepted what was going to happen. There was almost a peacefulness in the emptiness, or maybe it wasn’t the emptiness at all, maybe it was him finally accepting his fate. He did wish whatever had him was a little stronger because it was taking forever to get to where it was taking him. Just his luck he couldn’t go out in a blaze of glory, no, a pack of wolves was just going to tear his useless body apart. But even that scenario didn’t fit because there was only one thing pulling him, not a pack. It would start and stop again like he was too much for whatever had him.
The warmth surrounded him again; emerald eyes flashed in his head right before unimaginable pain racked his body. He felt everything—his lungs burning, the water expelling from his lungs, the fire lacing his chest. It was like a live wire had attached itself to him, and he wanted to scream. Then he felt a faint whisper of his beast. The rage coming from it was immense and blinding.
He struggled to connect to his beast, to find out what was going on, but he was still lost to Cash. He could feel the bond, but it was like it was frayed or something like only a small tendril even existed whereas before it had been as strong as steel. He looked up, still amazed at the battle going on before his eyes. He had never seen his beast before only imagined it.
The woman stood at her full height, and Cash couldn’t even figure out what that was, but she looked small. His beast, on the other hand, was massive. It had to lower its head just to meet the woman’s eyes. His coat was standing on end, and Cash could see the razor-sharp claws protruding from his paws. He wanted to scream at the woman to stand back to move away or hell just run, but every time he opened his mouth, nothing came out.
It didn’t make any sense, but he was seeing it or imagining it. His beast looked feral, snarling and swiping at the small woman he had seen before in the field. She pleaded with the beast to calm, but he was out of control. Cash wanted to beg as well, but he couldn’t do anything but watch.
Cash was an observer in his own mind, and it was fucking disconcerting, but he couldn’t seem to look away. The small woman stood in front of his beast, hands splayed like she wasn’t afraid. He could feel more warmth enter his body as he watched golden streams erupt from her hands, targeting his bear. At first, he tensed, not knowing what was going to happen. He didn’t feel threatened, but then again, he wasn’t feeling anything right now except for warmth, and it sure as fuck didn’t make any sense to him.
He was an outsider, watching a movie, and he wanted to turn it the fuck off. But he was stuck. The small woman he had seen earlier pleaded with the beast and tried to wrap those streams around him. Every single time one got close, his bear would bat it away. He wanted to tell her to stop, he could see the toll it was taking on her, but he was helpless to do anything.
More warmth, another slap, then pain. Cash looked down at his ethereal body; talk about a mind fuck. He looked back up, just in time to see the woman running towards him screaming, but he couldn’t make out the words she was saying. Cash lifted his hand and watched as it slowly started to disappear. He wanted to stay, he wanted to wait until the woman came to him, but his mind shifted, and the scene from all those years ago flashed in his mind again, Jessie saying, I hate you Cash Warren!
Cash was so confused. What the hell was going on? Jessie was standing there now, pissed, tears in her eyes, shaking her head. He looked down at his body again, and it was like looking at a shadow. He wanted the small woman back, he didn’t want to see this shit again. He wanted to see those emerald eyes which confused him even more. Why would he want to see a woman he didn’t even know, instead of Jessie, the woman he was supposed to be bound to?
Jessie the girl he was supposed to love and cherish above all others. He let her name slip through his lips in a whisper, Jessie? Her name becoming a question for the first time in his life.
Chapter Four
Jenna ran back the cabin. Well, more like fast walked, her clothes and weakness preventing her from doing much more. She was still shaking her head in stunned disbelief every few seconds, refusing to believe the man she just saved was Cash Warren. Damn it, not him of all the people she could have found in that river. Why did it have to be him?
Jenna had never met the man personally, hadn’t even seen a picture of him, but she had heard all about him for years. It was like a one in a million possibility, but Jenna was starting to think she had hit the proverbial jackpot, only she didn’t want it. Her family had done this man so wrong, and Jenna had wanted to smack th
em for it. But it wasn’t her place, she was still an outsider, at least, she felt that way, regardless of what they said. Everyone made choices, all of them affecting other people, and it sucked.
She tried to hold herself up higher, do better things, not play the games that seemed to go on around her all the time, but somehow, she always got sucked in. This time wouldn’t be any different. She had been stupid to think she could ignore her destiny by staying out in the middle of nowhere because fate was a bitch who would not be overlooked.
Seeing her cabin, she gritted her teeth and tried to move faster. She needed to get back to the poor man whoever he was. If he was Cash, then she would try to right some wrongs in her own way. If it wasn’t, shaking her head, Jenna thought, it didn’t matter, she would have helped anyone in that situation. She might want to be isolated and on her own, but she still had the urge and needed to help people. It just didn’t always work out that well for her, and she didn’t think this time would be any different. But damn it, she had to try.
Pounding up the stairs, Jenna slammed open the door, not bothering to shut it before she started stripping off her soaking wet boots and socks. Her clothes were another matter, the wet fabric sticking to her body like glue and not coming loose fast enough. When she finally managed to push her jeans past her hips, Jenna almost cheered.
Jenna looked up at the clock on the mantel and noticed it was just before four in the afternoon. She needed to hurry the hell up because it was already dark, and with the storm coming in, the conditions outside would only get worse. Quickly getting rid of the rest of her wet clothes, Jenna left them in a soggy mess of a pile. She would deal with that later and kicked them further to the side, so they were away from the door.
She shivered, the wind from the open door hitting her naked body like a tsunami now that she wasn’t running on straight adrenaline. Shit, she pushed the door closed and went to her dresser, not caring what she put on as long as it was dry and warm. Jenna briefly looked around for something, anything that would fit the man outside. Jenna smiled and ran to the small closet in the kitchen, thankful her uncle had no boundaries. She would never tell him that personally, but right now, the fact she had clothes that would help the stranger, she was ecstatic.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 127