But, she’d reasoned, with the heavy snowfall most of the regular vehicles were probably in use, shuttling hotel guests and staff to town and back. Who was she to complain? At least the man had given her a car. Despite the fact that she had spent the night in the alpha’s bed, that didn’t make her special.
Well, it had certainly made her feel special she thought, her body moistening as she remembered last night. She wondered briefly if there could possibly be a repeat once she found her brother.
Probably not. They’d been thrown together under a strange set of circumstances. She had no illusions that last night had been just that, one night. She was just grateful that he had found Nick and that Nick hadn’t suffered any injuries from his adventure according to the wolf pack that had found him and taken him. But that didn’t mean the boy was getting off consequence-free. Yes, he was a teenager, a teenager with a very old soul, and he was a wolf shifter, but he was still her brother. And she was still responsible for him.
Running away hadn’t been the answer.
Her hands tightened on the wheel. Not that she knew what the answer was. Maybe, Bachar could help her. Help them both. Maybe the wolf pack would be willing to give Nick shifter lessons. Well, that sounded dumb, Sally thought. And condescending. She forced back the tears as uncertainty started to overwhelm her again.
No. She was strong. She’d proven that over and over again during the last few years. She’d survived the loss of her stepfather and mother, gotten her degree, worked hard to provide for herself and her brother. And hadn’t freaked out, much, when said brother had shifted with no warning. She was strong.
As she gave herself the much-needed pep talk, she realized she was about to miss the last turn off. Even as she started to slow down, she heard the roar of a vehicle come up behind her. Wincing, she eased her foot off the gas, thinking it might be Bachar. He’d warned her not to leave the hotel last night, but she hadn’t thought the same warning would apply today. It had stopped snowing so that danger had passed.
But she had a deep, down feeling that he wouldn’t like to be disobeyed in any sense. Or, that he would like her going off to find her brother herself. She’d done that for two reasons. She truly didn’t want to bother Bachar with her issues, and she really wanted to get her brother and leave the shifter territory as quickly as possible.
The vehicle behind her slowed even though there was plenty of room for it to pass. The windows were darkened so she couldn’t see who was inside. It didn’t look like one of Bachar’s, sharing the same run down condition as her borrowed one. She gave her turn signal and prepared to make the turn. Before she could, the front end of the car following her hit her rear bumper.
“Crap,” she squealed, thinking she hadn’t given them enough notice before slowing down and they had slid into her. When it slammed into her car again, she knew that wasn’t the case.
“What the fuck?” she whispered to herself, glancing in the rearview mirror. Now she was panicking, did she turn off, leaving the main road to travel on what looked like a one lane road—a road she was unfamiliar with? Not that she knew where the road ahead of her would lead to either.
Her mind flooded with thoughts of Bachar, and she wanted desperately for him to appear. As the large SUV hit her again, sending her slightly smaller vehicle spinning, she realized she was in one hell of a predicament.
Bachar, Tarek, and Keair ran through the woods, their oversized animals carrying them quickly over the snow and downed trees from last night’s storm. Tarek, his animal more comfortable in the wintery conditions, lead the way.
Bachar could hear vehicles in the distance up ahead and prayed one was Sally’s. He heard more laboring up the mountain and knew instinctively that Tarek had ordered the security team to follow them. While his lion was roaring in his head to go faster, he welcomed the thought of reinforcements. Not that he would need them. He knew that both the wolf and the tiger would lay down their lives to protect him, and more importantly to protect his mate.
He breathed in the cold air, the nostrils of his lion opening and closing, letting out large puffs of white air. In other circumstances, he would have enjoyed the speed at which he was running with these two men. Enjoyed the feeling of freedom. But not today. Not while Sally was in danger.
Tarek slowed and then stopped, his snout in the air. Bachar and Keair stopped right behind him, scanning the area. A wolf’s sense of smell was greater than a cat’s, but both Bachar and Keair could see farther and with greater detail.
Tarek moved again, loping towards the road. Within minutes, the three came upon an abandoned vehicle, nose first in a ditch. Bachar didn’t hesitate to change back into a man, despite the freezing temperatures and the fact that he was naked. He strode through the snow as if it were a sandy beach and yanked the driver’s side door.
“Damn it.” Sally’s scent immediately assaulted his senses. “She was here.”
The other two men remained in their animal form, Tarek, already starting to track. Luckily the snow predicted for the day had not started yet and the tire tracks of another vehicle were clearly visible. As were the signs of a struggle. Spotting a dark patch in the snow, he knelt down, touching it with his fingertips before bringing it to his nose. As he feared, it was blood. Her blood. For the first time since he was but a cub, the shift came over him without any thought or control on his part. His lion sent a chilling roar through the mountains as it bounded forward, determined to find its mate.
Sally tried not to allow the terror racing through her overcome her and make her the helpless victim she knew the men wanted her to be. Despite her best efforts, once she’d been forced off the road, she’d been dragged from her vehicle. In the struggle, she’d managed to bloody the nose of one of the men and bruise at least one pair of balls.
Unfortunately, her efforts to defend herself had also resulted in a bruised cheek and split lip for herself.
After the men had kidnapped her, she’d been surprised when they had continued in the same direction that the front desk clerk had told her to go. Until her brain had woken up and she’d realized that he had been part of the plan.
A plan she was still uncertain of. Why would they want to kidnap her? Unless her brother was in far more danger than Bachar had told her, there was no reason. He was a young half-shifter, of absolutely no threat to anyone. The ride down the bumpy road didn’t last long, and soon they were pulling her roughly from the back seat.
“Sally Abigail Wilder, what have you gotten yourself into?” she murmured to herself as two of the men forced her through the snow and onto the front porch of what appeared to be an old hunting lodge that had fallen into a deep state of disrepair. For a moment, her twisted sense of humor took over as she wondered if Bachar was aware that such a building was on his lands. It was nothing like the elegant hotels she’d seen so far. She doubted he even knew of its existence. If he had, he no doubt would have had it razed. She knew it would have offended his senses. The smell certainly offended hers. Her eyes started to water at the putrid odor assailing her poor nose as she was forced inside.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” An unpleasant male voice came from the far end of the room. The man behind her pushed her forward, almost making her fall. Thankfully, her hands were tied in front of her so she kept her balance.
“So have you slept with the mangy lion?” The man walked over to her, sniffing the air. She had no way of knowing if he was a shifter or a human. If he were a shifter, he would surely smell Bachar’s scent on her.
Sally raised her chin, looking the man directly in the eye. “I’m not sure to whom you are referring.” Maybe she could confuse him with proper grammar.
The other man frowned. “Bachar. Have you slept with him?”
Sally threw back her hair, defiance written all over her small face. “Have you seen the man? He’s built like a brick shithouse. Of course, I slept with him.”
“Did he mark you?” He gripped her chin and twisted her neck from side to si
de. When he didn’t find anything, he grabbed the neck of her t-shirt and ripped it until the tops of her breasts were exposed. “I see he didn’t. You must not be important then.”
“Well, thanks a lot,” Sally muttered. “You sure know how to build up a girl’s self-esteem.”
The man laughed. “You are nothing but a whore that spreads her legs for dirty shifters.”
“I take it you aren’t one then?”
“How dare you suggest such a thing?” The affronted look on his face told Sally he’d just as soon have been accused of being a leper.
Sally started to shiver, the temperature in the small cabin not much higher than that outside. She’d realized in the last few moments that she was in the hands of the radical humans that had been in the news for the past several months. They wanted the government to take back the land they had given the shifters and basically round them up and put them on reservations, much like the government had Native-Americans. While humans had never welcomed the disclosure of the existence of shifters with open arms and happy hearts, most of humanity had accepted them. There were, however, still small pockets of humans around the country, even the world, who were less than thrilled to know that man wasn’t at the top of the food chain anymore.
“Maybe we should remind her what it’s like to be with a real man?” The one she had kneed in the groin stepped forward, cupping his bruised junk as he leered at her partially exposed breasts. The others grunted in agreement, and she knew the time for her to make her move was now. Suddenly, she realized why her stepfather had been so insistent on teaching her self-defense. She’d always thought it was because she was a girl.
Now she knew he might have suspected she might find herself in this type of situation when Nick discovered exactly what he was.
As the men moved closer, she took a deep breath and brought her hands up as swiftly as she could, clipping the leader under the chin. It didn’t have much effect on the man, but it was enough to cause a commotion. She turned on her heel dodging the hands of the other men who tried to grab her as she headed out the door.
“After her!”
Fear spurred Sally on. It didn’t matter that there was nowhere to run except into the snow covered trees. Only one thought blazed through her mind—get away!
Before she could get very far, a large, mutton-shaped hand closed over her shoulder. She shrugged it away and kept running. She felt herself being grabbed again and her luck ran out. Seconds later she was on her knees, the men circling around her like a pack of hungry wolves. She braced herself for what was about to happen.
“Let’s take her, boys.”
“No, wait!” Sally cried out, not ready to give up. Maybe she could bargain with them. While she knew nothing about Bachar and his pride, they didn’t know that she didn’t know.
The leader knelt in the snow beside her, his face pressed against hers, his breath so bad she had to turn hers away in order not to gag. He gripped her hair, making her face him again. He closed his fist so tightly against her scalp that tears came to her eyes. “Your mangy boyfriend isn’t going to come for you. And he for sure won’t want you once we get done with you.” He rose to his feet. “Get her inside boys. It’s time for some fun.”
Sally had no doubt what the man was saying was true. Bachar didn’t even know she was in trouble unless the desk clerk made a point of telling him. Was that the reason they’d kidnapped her? In hopes of luring Bachar to this remote spot so they could kill him? Now Sally had two reasons to try to get away. To save herself and to save Bachar. She went limp as one of the men tried to lift her to her feet. Her delaying tactic only earned her another slap across the face. She thought hazily that Bachar wouldn’t like their treatment of her. As another man helped pick her up, the sound of engines broke through the quiet.
“Somebody’s coming.” The men turned to look down the snow covered road leading to the cabin.
“Fuck,” the leader cursed, pulling a gun from the waistband of his dirty jeans. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized not only was there a fleet of black vehicles coming down the road, but animals. There was no mistaking the lion leading the charge—Bachar, in all his golden glory. She was surprised by that, half expecting him to have a dark mane. Beside him was a black wolf that she instinctively knew was Tarek. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a massive Bengal tiger as well.
The hands on her arms loosened as the other men reached for their guns and she knew she had to do something. Running, she threw herself in the line of fire, screaming, “Don’t shoot! Please don’t shoot!”
The roar of the lion mixed with the sound of gunfire. It took Sally a few minutes to register the sharp pain that lanced through her shoulder at the surrealism of the moment. As she fell to the snow covered ground, she watched with fascinated eyes as the lion transformed in mid-leap, and Bachar landed in front of her.
“Sally!”
Her name had never sounded so desperate before, and no man had ever looked at her the way Bachar was looking at her now. Fear and vulnerability showed in his eyes. She reached for him before realizing her hands were still tied together. Not that they seemed to be working properly, she thought hazily as her vision started to fade.
“You came,” she whispered as she felt his arms close around her.
He was repeating one word over and over again. “Albi, Albi.”
Sally lost consciousness, making a mental note to ask him what that meant.
Chapter Six
Bachar paced in the hospital’s waiting room, his lion berating him for allowing their mate to be hurt. It was no worse than how he was condemning himself. How could he have been so foolish as to have left her alone, knowing that the humans were in the area?
It was one more reason why he wasn’t fit to have a mate. And certainly not one as precious and brave as his. He stopped at the windows, clenching his fists. A flood of emotions washed through him. Fear that Sally’s injuries were far more serious than he knew. Anger at the fact that Tarek had not allowed him to tear apart the man who had shot his mate, limb by limb. Disgust that he, and his lion, had allowed her to put herself in such a position to begin with. The safety of a shifter’s mate was more important than anything in the world. The life of a shifter or even the well-being of a pack or pride.
A mate was fate’s ultimate gift to a shifter. One not to be squandered and taken for granted.
“She will be fine.” He knew the heavy hand on his shoulder was meant to relieve some of the feelings of failure flashing through him. Keair had been by his side from the moment he’d lifted Sally in his arms, arranging for a helicopter to airlift her to the hospital. Tarek had stayed behind to take care of business. Rationally, he knew the wolf would deliver swift and irrevocable justice, but that didn’t mean his lion didn’t want to do it himself. It was rare that Bachar killed as a lion, but not unheard of. It was not something he nor his animal enjoyed, but in this case, it was his duty. His responsibility. Damn it, his right.
Bachar gazed out of the window without actually seeing anything beyond the snowflakes swirling in the fading evening night. Another storm was on its way, and he wished the day had never happened. That he hadn’t pushed his instincts aside this morning. That he’d stayed in bed with his mate. They’d be there now, making love in front of the fire as the snow fell outside, isolating them from the demands of the outside world.
“She will be fine,” Keair repeated his statement without answering.
The doors to the waiting room opened, and Bachar spun around. “Fuck,” he growled when he saw Tarek had entered instead of the doctor.
“You know, a person could get a complex from the warm greetings you’ve given everyone lately, Alpha.” Keair’s lips lifted into a half-smile, but Bachar didn’t respond.
“He is waiting for news from the doctor.” Tarek frowned at the tiger and Keair sighed. When had his two friends become some joyless beasts?
“I know, man. Just trying to lighten the mood.”
; “Lighten the mood? Would you be so quick to crack a joke, if it were your mate lying on a table, under the knife of a surgeon?” Tarek growled the words and Keair eyes widened in surprise. Passion was usually the last emotion the lone wolf exhibited.
“Not. Helping.” Bachar bit out the words.
The doors opened again, and this time it was the doctor who entered, dressed in surgical scrubs. Before Tarek or Keair could stop him, Bachar moved across the room, backing the doctor up against the wall, his hot breath fanning the man’s face. “Tell me.”
Keair let out a sigh of relief as he moved closer and realized the doctor was a shifter. A human would have already pissed his pants at the look on the alpha’s face. This doctor merely blinked before telling Bachar what he wanted to know. “She’s fine. The bullet went in and out. There was a lot of blood—”
Keair stepped forward, tugging at Bachar’s shoulder until the other man stepped away. “Thank you, doctor. When can he see her?”
The doctor smiled. “She’s being moved to recovery as we speak. Once out of there, she’ll be moved to a room. He can see her there.”
Keair gave a rueful shake of his head. “I don’t think that’s going to work, doc. I suggest you have her moved directly to a private room with a private nurse. ASAP. You’ve got about ten minutes.”
The doctor looked at him, then at Bachar and finally at Tarek. They made a formidable team. One that would not take no for an answer. “Okay, then. Ten minutes.” He eased away, walking quickly back out the doors.
“You should have said five,” Tarek said.
“You shouldn’t have given him any fucking time,” Bachar growled his words as he leaned against the wall, his gaze firmly fixed on the clock on the other side of the waiting room. Keair knew the second those ten minutes were up Bachar would be striding down the hall and heaven help anyone who tried to stop him.
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