Bishop

by Susan Bliler

  Fuck this! He shot a transmission through the mist as fast as he could, and he sent it straight to the top.

  Monroe accepted the mental nudge, and Bishop rushed out, “We’re at my cabin. Jenny and I are under attack. Megalya.” It was all he could relay before he forced a shift and felt his form slip from mountain lion to an African lion, his size doubling even as his claws and wicked incisors thickened and lengthened.

  The display was enough to slow the approach of a few of the Megalya, yet an equal amount kept right on coming.

  Torn between standing protectively over Jenny and not wanting to hurt her, he paced one step forward while Jenny’s still seizing body finally went lax beneath him.

  Shit! She was out!

  The first three Megalya to approach were easy enough to dispatch. Honestly, what did they think was going to happen when they got within striking distance of a fucking lion? The rest learned quickly and circled around and attacked en masse.

  He knew from training that their claws weren’t long but were damn sharp. The fuckers had rows of sharp shark-like teeth too, and when they sunk into his hide, it felt like he was being eaten alive by a school of piranha.

  Bishop fought like a lion possessed. The fleshy skin of the Megalya stood no chance against his lion’s claws and teeth. Three went down, then four. All the while, their biting and clawing didn’t stop. He could feel them ripping into him, and his fur was sticky now with his own blood as well as theirs. He didn’t care. He couldn’t, he didn’t have the time because while he was fighting three Megalya, two others snuck up behind him and were dragging Jenny away.

  NOOOO!

  He spun, giving his attackers his back and it was a mistake. They piled on him, forcing him to the ground. He could only snarl furiously as Jenny was hauled further from him. Shoving to his feet, he tried to go to her, but something pierced his side and had his head wrenching back as he unleashed a deafening roar. He’d have to take care of the Megalya on him before he could rescue Jenny. It was the most helpless he’d ever felt in all his life, and at that moment he realized just how fucking stupid he was for torturing Jenny with his anger. She was his fucking mate! He should have forgiven her. He should have fully claimed her! Now, the prospect of losing her before he could tell her he was sorry had him renewed into battle.

  No! No fucking way was he letting these pasty little fucks end his and Jenny’s story like this! Not today, not happening! She was getting her fucking happily ever after!

  Over his shoulder, Bishop caught sight of a blade swinging down over top of him. In a flash, he shifted to python form and rolled, and when all three fuckers on top of him lost their grip, he pushed another shift and let a massive roaring grizzly explode from him. His grizzly came to life on his back, so it was easy to lock his jaws around the head of the closest Megalya while one paw swiped viciously through the chest of another. Jaws clenching, he didn’t relent until he felt bone shatter between his jaws. Seconds later, he was on his feet squared off with the one remaining Megalya. Every ounce of him wanted to give this prick his back and rush for Jenny, but that had cost him earlier.

  Squaring up with the idiot, Bishop roared in his face, hoping to simply scare him off. No such luck. A noise drew his attention, and he whipped his head around when a feral roar ripped through the clearing.

  Jenny was coming around, and intelligent beauty that she was, she’d shifted to rhino form. No sharp teeth, no long claws, but she was wielding a massive horn as she rested firmly on the ground, her weight preventing the two Megalya from dragging her any further while her thick hide withstood their pathetically small teeth and short claws.

  Satisfied, she was safe for now Bishop gave his full attention to the Megalya in front of him. A quick shift shuttled through him, and he was back in his lion form. The Megalya took one step, and that’s as far as he got. Bishop let his teeth sink all the way to bone before he jerked his head and shook savagely until the body in his mouth went limp.

  A scream had him jerking to attention, and he dropped the Megalya and spun to find Jenny back in human form, writhing on the ground again. Bishop’s eyes cut to the guy in the lab coat who watched Jenny intently, a sinister self-satisfied twist to his lips as he held his thumb pressed hard onto some sort of remote.

  The two Megalya hoisted Jenny off the ground, but Bishop was already moving. He tackled one and disposed of him quickly before he faced off with the other. The entire time, Jenny’s body was arched because that fucking prick with the remote wasn’t letting up.

  Without hesitation, Bishop turned and charged the Doctor. Eyes rounding in fear, the fuck shrieked…actually fucking shrieked before dropping the remote and turning to run.

  Bishop was to the remote in two long strides, and one massive paw crushed it before he turned back to the lone survivor who now held Jenny cradled in his arms.

  His Jenny. His Angel. His mate!

  He licked the blood from his maw as he approached, eyes pinpoints of fury as they narrowed on the Megalya. Too stupid to drop Jenny and run but smart enough not to challenge one-on-one, the Megalya looked down at Jenny and fisted her throat in a threatening gesture. It was a warning that he’d snap her neck if Bishop took another stop.

  Bishop halted and look from the creature to Jenny. Sooty lashes rested against pale skin. Her mouth was slightly parted, but her body was lifeless. Fear wrenched its way up his spine as he wondered if the prolonged shock had stopped her heart. His eyes dipped to her chest. She hadn’t regenerated her coat with her shift back to human form so he could see the slight rise and fall of her breasts with her shallow breathing. Breathing that wouldn’t last long if the fuck with his hand around her throat tightened it any further.

  Bishop shifted back to human form and held up his hands. “Take me instead.” It was a lame offer. He knew it was. Lab coat guy already made it clear that he wanted Jenny and that Bishop was expendable. Still, it was worth a shot.

  The Megalya looked confused a moment like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do.

  Suddenly, the trees around them began to rustle. Booted feet pounded closer, and Bishop felt his muscles relax slightly. Sentries had finally arrived!

  More confident now, Bishop lowered his hand and motioned toward the forest with his head. “They aren’t just gonna let you go. You need to give me the woman, and I’ll do what I can to ensure…”

  His words died off as bodies began pouring into the clearing. His heart slammed to a halt.

  At first, it was just a handful of Megalya, and then it was a few more, and then another few until Bishop was completely surrounded by at least twenty enemies.

  Hopelessness took a serious swipe at his knees, but fuck that! He turned and looked at the Megalya holding Jenny. With his beady little eyes locked on Bishop’s, the fucker dropped her. Just dropped her like an insignificant sack of potatoes.

  Dipping his chin, Bishop couldn’t keep from snarling, “You’re gonna pay for that.”

  Tearing his eyes from the Megalya, they dipped to where Jenny lay lifeless on the ground. It hurt to realize that this was it. This was the last time he’d ever get to look at her, it was the last time he’d ever see his mate. Sure, he could shift and fly away, but that wasn’t happening. Running and leaving her behind wasn’t in him. Nope, he was gonna stand here and fight every damn monster that rushed him because there was no way in hell he was leaving Jenny behind. He was in this. And, if he had to fight to his own bloody death to try and get his Angel free, then that’s exactly what he was gonna do.

  Decided, he ignored the blood that ran down his arms and dripped off his tightly fisted hands. A shift tore through him and in a blink, a grizzly exploded from him. He didn’t hesitate. Lunging forward, he started tearing through bodies and with each swipe of his paws, with each snap of his massive jaws, all he could repeat in his head was, Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

  He’d wasted so much damn time being angry at Jen. If he would have known then just how precious each of their moments was gonna be�
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  His paw shot out and raked down a chest that got too close. Stupid!

  His jaws locked around the shoulder of a Megalya that charged, wielding a too tiny blade that didn’t even penetrate Bishop’s thick hide. Stupid!

  Claw. Stupid!

  Rip. Stupid!

  Maim. Stupid!

  Kill. Stupid!

  His vision blurred with the emotion that gathered in his eyes as he finally made it to Jenny’s limp form. Standing over her, he had her body protectively caged beneath his as he split his jaw and roared at the still coming Megalya. Suddenly, a group of five all launched at once, and when they landed on his back, he had to brace his legs to keep from crumpling and crushing Jen.

  Pain tore through him where teeth bit into his skin and where claws finally found their way through his thick fur. Something sharp pierced his side, and he felt it slide between his ribs even as he loosed another massive roar of rage. He shook and shook, but couldn’t get them off.

  This is it!

  Lowering his head, he looked at Jenny’s body, still prone beneath his bear’s giant frame. She was covered in blood now. It was his blood. He was bleeding everywhere, and any hope of holding out until his Skin Walker brethren arrived was rapidly fading.

  “Jenny!” He pushed her name through the mist, needing to tell her something just in case she lived. “I’m sorry. I wasted so much time.” The sharp object was jerked from his side and then slammed home again. He roared again, but this time it was in anguished. Full on panic was hitting him now because he didn’t know what would happen to Jenny once he was gone. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to show her and do with her.

  “I love you,” he rushed out and then clenched his teeth when she stirred.

  At first, it was just a quick jerk, but then she was rolling to her back and slowly blinking her eyes open.

  “Jenny! Run!”

  Her chin jerked down and her eyes locked with his. He thought he’d find terror there, but as her eyes raked down his bloody frame, her jaw clenched, and her eyes went hard.

  “Jen! NO!”

  She didn’t listen. Of course, she didn’t listen. Beautiful beastly bitch!

  A shift exploded from her before she was even completely out from under him. The girth of her grizzly’s frame bucked his hind end, and then they were back to back. Jenny being in this renewed Bishop into the fight and fight they did. Back to back, they matched each other swipe for swipe, bite for bite, claw for claw.

  Yeah, Bishop was a bloody wheezing mess, but so were the remaining Megalya.

  A loud clap of thunder boomed through the air. Bishop thought it was just a warning of the imminent storm, but when a streak of lightning lit the sky and struck the ground amid a group of Megalya sending them flying, Bishop lifted his head.

  There!

  As if in answer to his prayers, Bishop spotted RedKnife tearing from the tree line. There were a dozen Walkers behind him, some in human form, but most shifting as they charged through the driving rain that began pounding down on them.

  Huge cool drops pelted Bishop’s fur.

  Thank the Grandfathers!

  Now, no one would see the tears that streaked from the corners of his eyes as he lunged again, shredding through the skin of one of the Megalya who’d foolishly given Bishop his back.

  The Megalya were now focused on the incoming Walkers, and with their attention elsewhere, Bishop turned and tackled Jenny to the ground. Her bear hit the wet ground with a loud thud, and she only struggled a moment before realizing it was him holding her down.

  She looked up at him with confused eyes. She didn’t get it. She didn’t understand that he was bleeding out and his one last act was going to be covering her up and protecting her body until the battle was done.

  Eyes locked with hers, he saw realization dawn a second before Jenny was struggling against him. He didn’t let up. He couldn’t. No way in hell was he letting his woman free. There wasn’t anything she could do to make him let her up, so…

  Motherfucker!

  Jenny shifted. Her giant grizzly receded until nothing was left but her soft human frame, a frame much too small to be buried under the weight of Bishop’s animal. With no other choice, Bishop shifted too. It was dangerous because by covering Jenny his enemy had his back. Still, there wasn’t much more damage they could do that hadn’t already been done.

  “Bishop!” Jenny yelled, her panicked eyes scanning down his frame.

  She planted her feet and rolled her hips and to Bishop’s total shock and utter mortification, she was able to roll him off of her.

  “Bishop!” she breathed more quietly, staring right at him before lifting her head and yelling, “Someone get me a medkit!”

  Apparently, no one heard or acted fast enough because Jenny tore her eyes from his wounds, lifted her head, and screamed, “I need a fucking medkit!”

  Feet slapped against wet earth, and Bishop knew someone was approaching, but he was drifting in and out of consciousness now and couldn’t seem to stay focused long enough to get Jenny back underneath the shield of his body. Hell, his arms didn’t even want to move.

  “Fuck!” he heard Jenny breathe and finally, there was the terror he’d expected from her earlier. “Help me!” Jenny commanded to someone. “Stitch! Just fucking stitch everything!”

  His skin tugged and pulled and then there was pain. Everywhere there was pain. He grunted against the agony tearing through him even as relief filled his bones. He was surrounded by familiar faces, which meant one thing. The Megalya were gone. Jenny was safe.

  Satisfied, he’d done his duty; Bishop let the hazy fog that was threatening the periphery of his vision collapse inward.

  “Stay with me, Bishop!” Jenny growled.

  He wanted to. God, how he wanted to, but the inky blackness was swallowing him up fast, and he was too drained to fight it. With his last moment, he shoved through the mist, “I fucked up, Jen. So sorry.”

  Chapter 20

  No way, no way, No! Fucking! Way! Jenny’s hands worked like a surgeon possessed. She refused to let those words be the last she heard from her mate. She knew she was barking orders like a damn drill Sergeant, but it couldn’t be helped. She couldn’t lose Bishop now, not like this.

  RedKnife, King, and Ash were all working feverishly to stitch up different wounds on Bishop’s body while she worked on the most traumatic wounds. He’d been clawed, bitten, and stabbed repeatedly.

  Stupid man! She sniffed and didn’t even realize she was crying until a sob tore from her.

  “We can do this, Jen.” King offered soothingly. “Maybe you should step back.”

  Fuck that! She was the damn surgeon. She was the best! And that’s what Bishop deserved.

  “I’m fine,” she clipped out, swiping her cheek on her shoulder as her hands continued to work. The rain was still pelting down but was starting to slow. “We just need to get him back together. His beasts will take care of the rest.” She wondered if the Walkers around her heard the uncertainty in her tone. She’d never seen a Walker sustain this kind of damage before and survive. Sure, they were tough as shit, but this? She didn’t even want to think about Bishop not making it.

  “We need to get him inside,” RedKnife growled, swiping mud off a wound at Bishop’s thigh before dipping a needle into his skin and starting to lace the skin back together.

  He was right, but first, Jenny needed to finish suturing the last of the stab wounds. Her hands worked feverishly but stilled when Bishop made one last gasping sound. Jenny’s eyes slid to his chest.

  “Shit! He’s not breathing.” Needles forgotten, she moved to his side and got up on her knees. One hand planted on top of the other, she started chest compressions, pushing as quickly and as hard as she could before yelling, “Don’t you do this to me, Bishop!” A sob wrenched from her, “Don’t you fucking do this to me!”

  The Walkers who’d been helping eased back and the rest who’d been cleaning up the last of the Megalya s
lowly closed in.

  Huddled on her knees in the mud, giving her blood-soaked mate chest compressions, Jenny felt like she was having an out-of-body experience.

  This isn’t happening! Then she started begging, Please, don’t let this happen!

  Alternating between chest compressions and breathing, her crying grew panicked when Bishop still hadn’t started breathing.

  “Bishooooop!” she screamed, still forcing compressions. Tear soaked eyes jerked around the circle of Walkers until they landed on RedKnife. “What do I do?” She sounded desperate, and she knew it, but right now she was beyond caring. “RedKnife!” she shouted. “What the fuck do I do?”

  His eyes dipped to her neck, and it took her a second to register what he was telling her. Afraid to stop compressions, she knew she had no choice. She had to trust RedKnife. As the lone indigenous Skin Walker, he had gifts the others didn’t have, and he knew things the others didn’t know.

  Stopping compressions, Jenny lifted her hand and ripped her halo free. Thrusting it forward, it locked around Bishop’s neck where it wrapped silkily around his own, creating a rare double-helix as their halos twined. The halo locked in place, and ethereal light flashed from around Bishop’s neck. Suddenly, his body arched violently liked he’d been charged by a defibrillator before a high-pitched whine filled the air. It was matched by a second whine that was a note higher. As quickly as they’d come, the light and sound faded and Bishop’s body dropped back to the ground.

  Silence hung in the air as all eyes locked on Bishop. Jenny was one mili-second from losing her shit when Bishop coughed, and his chest rose with one great inhalation.

  Jenny didn’t celebrate. She couldn’t. She was still too close to losing him.

  Shoving to her feet, she commanded, “Get him inside. Fast!”

  The Walkers around her moved in an instant. Bishop was carried around the cabin, and Jenny rushed to follow.

  ***

  Six hours. It had taken Jenny six whole hours to get all of Bishop’s wounds cleaned and properly sutured. Now, she lay against the wall in the cabin bedroom staring at where Bishop lay on the clean sheets she’d had the men put on after she’d finished her work. She was still coated in her mate’s blood. Hair still damp from the downpour, a shiver coursed through her and she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or from the realization that she’d almost lost him.