by Sara Summers
Dean howled when I reached the top of the stairs, and I heard movement on the floor above my head. The shifters were coming, and that was no good.
A man ran in from the kitchen, holding a phone to his ear.
“Yes, Alpha, it’s—“
“Give that to me.” I commanded, using my Influence to force him. He immediately handed the phone over, though he glared at me. I stared at him for a solid three seconds, before it dawned on me that I had never seen any women in their pack. “Where are all your women?” I demanded.
The veins in his neck and arms popped out.
“They left with the Omega last year.” The words seemed to force themselves out. “We haven’t been able to find them.”
My mouth fell open. They had figured that out, too? If they had done it, I had to wonder who else could have left their mates.
The Rockies started running down the stairs, so I had to hurry. I had plenty of Influence, but I was still drowsy from whatever Dean drugged me with, and I wasn’t sure I could hold all the Rockies.
I hobble-ran out the door in the kitchen, heading for the trees. Though they would undoubtedly catch up to me, if Ty was going to come after me, he would most likely come through the forest.
The Rockies came in a wave, and when I turned around, I almost tripped over my own foot and cast. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but still. There were hundreds of Rockies, at least double as many single guys as were currently in my pack.
I had no idea there were so many lone males.
They were all running toward me, but I held them back with my Influence. They raged against it, ramming me over and over again, but there was nothing I could do.
I was holding them back, but I could feel them about to break free. There were two options:
Letting them take me to their Alpha and do who knew what to me, or… shifting.
There was a good chance that shifting could break my leg a whole lot worse than it was already broken. My wolf was dying to take over, but it was a risk. Shifting into wolf form was a lot less risky than shifting back into human form would be, but eventually I would have to shift back.
I made up my mind in an instant. Shifting was dangerous and would be painful, but giving myself to the Rockies could potentially become a lot worse.
So I shifted, and then I ran.
I had always been a fast runner.
My leg shook and wobbled with every step, but it didn’t faze me. If I didn’t get back to Ty, I was done for.
It took about fifteen minutes to get back to our townhouse, running as fast as my legs would take me. When I got there, I ran up the stairs and didn’t stop until I landed in the bedroom. Then, I shut the door and dropped in front of it, in wolf form. I would be the last thing protecting me, and that would have to do.
The next five minutes were long, and I waited, tense and nervous.
My wolf was jittery, having been suppressed for so long, but I held her down.
“Leah!” Ty shouted, and I heard footsteps on the stairs. “It’s me, open the door.” He commanded.
I scooted away from the door, and he opened it.
“Thank the Creator.” He murmured, dropping to his knees and pulling my wolf against him. She nuzzled him, grateful he was there to protect her. “Is your leg okay?” he checked, pulling away.
We shook our head. No, it was not okay. It had been shaking uncontrollably since we stopped running.
“Frick.” Ty muttered. “If you shift back, it’s going to get a million times worse.”
We nodded our head to agree.
“What should I do?” he wondered.
We noticed his hands shaking against our fur, so we dropped our head to his lap, hoping to comfort him. He rubbed his hands against our head, conflicted but still glad we were okay.
My wolf let me take the reins for a few seconds, so we could contemplate our human options.
For one, I could stay in wolf form. My leg might heal a little faster, and Ty could even take me to the vet. It made eating hard, though, and then I couldn’t talk to my mate.
Or, I could shift back, and take my horribly-broken leg into the hospital. They would probably have to do surgery, and I would be stuck on a bed for weeks, if not months.
I didn’t think there was a third option, but my wolf insisted that somewhere, there was. I thought about everything I knew about the medical options, but honestly, I knew next to nothing. The only thing I’d ever known medically had to do with mermaids.
A lightbulb flashed on in my mind. Mermaids.
Mermaids had always been the most magical of the shifters. They had power that the rest of us shifters could never even dream of. My mind flashed back to a conversation I’d had with my friend, Ava, a few days before I ran to Glacier.
“Leah, I know you don’t like asking for help, but promise me that you will.” Ava grabbed my hands and squeezed them tightly. I nodded, though grudgingly.
“I will.”
“I’m serious. I have more magic than any of our friends have realized, and I can help with all sorts of things. Sicknesses, injuries, jerky shifters… promise you’ll call me if you need anything.” She said, completely serious.
“Alright.” I agreed.
If I had ever needed magical help, now was the time. Ava could fix me.
So I scooted away from Ty and shifted into human form. Bursts of pain ripped through my leg, and black spots concealed my vision.
“My phone.” I whispered, trying to keep myself conscious through the pain.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked. I could hear the worry in his voice, though my vision was too spotty to see his face.
“Call Ava. Tell her I’m hurt. If she doesn’t answer, call Sav. She’ll find Ava.” I forced the words out, then the pain took over and I blacked out.
Chapter 17
“Leah?” Savanna called my name. I opened my eyes and saw her standing above me.
“What’s going on? Where’s Ty?” I whispered.
My voice was scratchy, so I thought it might have been a while since I’d been awake.
“I’m here.” I looked to my other side, and there he was. He brushed some hair away from my eyes. “How do you feel?” he asked softly.
“Okay. Really tired.” I managed to get the words out.
Ty and Savanna both grimaced.
“Ava had to go. She healed your leg but almost passed out, then had to catch a flight.” Sav explained.
“What?” I asked, trying to blink away some of the exhaustion.
“Well apparently she’s some kind of mermaid princess. Like an Alpha, but chosen at birth.”
“What?” I repeated.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sav assured me. “She’s fine, just busy and tired. She wanted to stay and say hi, but her people needed her.”
“Okay…” I frowned, then yawned.
“I’m gonna get you home, okay?” Ty pressed a kiss to my forehead. I nodded, then yawned again. “Just get some rest. We’ll talk in the morning.” He promised.
The next time I woke up, I was in my own bed. Rather, mine and Ty’s bed. Ty wasn’t with me, but I didn’t worry.
I heard some music downstairs, and could smell something cooking. So, I pulled the blankets off my legs.
I gasped when I saw my right leg. It looked normal. No cast, no breaks or bruises. I had a whole leg again… And that meant I could shift, which was enough of a reason to do a little happy dance on the bed.
I was beaming when I put my feet on the ground. The first few steps I took were shaky, but I managed to keep moving. The stairs were a little more challenging. Despite almost falling on my face a few times, I managed to stay upright.
When I made it downstairs, I found Savanna on the couch, reading my Omega book. Ty was in the kitchen, making some sort of cookie that was shaped like a pizza. Piano music was playing, fairly loudly.
“Sav!” I exclaimed, and she looked up from the book.
“Hey!” She jumped u
p and gave me a big hug. “I’ve missed you, girl. I can see your man’s been treating you well.” She gave me a sultry smile, and I rolled my eyes at her.
“Mind your own business, panther girl.” I taunted her.
“Make me, wolfie.” She threw it back at me, then we hugged each other again. “Gosh, I miss our ladies. Those were the days.” She sighed, sitting down on the couch again. “Now, responsibilities.” She made a face and held up the Omega book.
“Yeah. It’s actually pretty interesting though, right?” I pointed out.
“It is.” Sav agreed. “Who knew that our ancestors are the reason it sucks to be a woman now.”
“For real.” I sighed. “When do you have to leave?”
“You mean when do I run next?” Savanna smiled wryly. “I have to get on a plane tomorrow morning so he doesn’t find me.” She admitted.
“Yikes.” I grimaced, finally noticing Ty standing in the kitchen. He was watching me with his arms folded, and he had been waiting very patiently.
One glance told me that he was tired of waiting. I gave him a small smile before running over and throwing my arms around him.
“Whoa.” He laughed, lifting me up and holding me tight. “How does it feel?” he asked, after putting me down.
I wiggled my foot and leg around, smiling brighter than I had in weeks.
“It’s perfect.”
“Do you know what this means?” Ty’s eyes flashed with his grin, and I danced around, shaking my arms and hips.
“We can run together!” I exclaimed, then looked over at Savanna. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“What?” she looked up from the Omega book, an absentminded expression on her face. “Oh, nope. Go ahead.” She shooed us away. “I’ve got plenty to do.” She played with a strand of her shoulder-length blonde hair, focusing on the book again.
“I’ll race ya.” I teased, running out the door, not bothering to think about my bare feet.
“I’ll win.” Ty grabbed me around the waist a second after I hit the ground. He spun me around, and we laughed together.
“Bet I can shift faster than you.” I challenged, tugging my shirt over my head as I raced behind some trees. I got the rest of my clothes off quickly, then ran out into the trees. When I made it behind the row of townhouses, Ty was already back there, laying on his stomach and studying his paws.
Our wolves may have been much larger than normal wolves, but they still liked to run, play, and hunt like their less-modern counterparts.
So, Ty and I ran. We raced through the trees, keeping our thoughts to ourselves as we enjoyed what the forest had to offer. Though there was snow everywhere, we didn’t mind. We were warm enough with our fur.
Shifters can communicate with their minds while in animal form, but most of us tended to avoid it unless there was something that had to be said.
My wolf and I caught the scent of something metal, and we stopped in our tracks. Wolf-Ty was back a few seconds later, wondering what was wrong.
“Blood.” My wolf told him. Wolf-Ty nodded.
“Your blood. Your leg was bleeding when you ran back to the pack.”
“Oh.” I nodded, and we resumed running through the trees. My wolf took note of the direction the blood had come from, using that to remember where she had to avoid if she wanted to stay away from the Rocky pack.
There was something exhilarating about the simplicity of being an animal. Nothing to worry about, nothing to think about, and nothing stopping us from enjoying being together.
We stopped to get a drink from a partially-frozen stream. While we were drinking, wolf-Ty bumped our stomach.
We jumped away from the stream, and found him with his tail in the air. He wanted to play. So we rolled around together for a few minutes, snapping and licking and jumping around until it started to get dark.
When it started to get dark, it started to get cold, so we ran back to the house. I caught a whiff of my blood again as we ran, which my wolf took note of, but didn’t think twice about it.
Both of us were laughing when we walked out of the trees, having pulled our clothes back on.
“I had you pinned.” Ty taunted.
“But I didn’t want you anywhere else.” I protested with a smile. “So really, I won.”
“Think what you want, missy. I was the winner.” He grinned, pulling the door open and letting me inside first.
I noticed a few men watching us from across the street, but pointedly ignored them. They wouldn’t try anything with Ty at my side.
When we got in the door, I noticed Savanna sleeping on the couch. The Omega book was open on her stomach, and there was a flower on top of it.
“Sav?” I shook her shoulder, and she cracked one eye open.
“What?” She groaned, moving around. The flower hit the floor, and Ty picked it up.
“Did you go flower-picking while we were gone?” he quirked an eyebrow, and Sav opened both of her eyes.
“What? No.” she frowned, sitting up and rubbing her eye. “Where did you find that?” she asked, staring at the flower in Ty’s hand.
“It was on top of the book, on your stomach.” I told her, a little concerned. “If you didn’t put it there, who did?” I wondered.
I remembered the men watching from across the street, and ran over to the front door. When I opened it, though, they were gone.
“Oh eff.” Savanna threw her feet to the floor, shoving the book away from her. “Do you see that flower, Lee? Recognize it?” She checked.
I stared at it for a few seconds, trying to figure out why I’d recognize it. Nothing came to mind.
“It’s a pink peony. You and I used to joke about how it had the same initials as the purple panther, which was funny because… well duh.” She hurried over to her shoes, which were by the door. “I told the story on my blog the other day. That means he’s found my blog, which means he knows my name. I haven’t even posted about coming here yet, so there’s only one person it could be.”
She yanked her coat on over her sweater.
“Wait, what?” Ty was curious.
“I’ll explain in the car. I need you to take me to the airport now. It’s a good thing I’ve got fake names.” She muttered, grabbing the keys to Ty’s car.
We followed her outside and Ty took the keys, peeling out of the driveway and taking off toward the airport.
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking at her in the mirror for a second before focusing on the road.
“It’s my mate. He’s been after me for months, that’s why I’ve been traveling around the world. I have to stay away from him.” She said, glancing behind us worriedly. “I started a travel blog to hopefully make money while I do, and it went viral. I guess that only helped him find me.” She explained.
“Is he trying to hurt you?” Ty checked. “I can take him down for you if you need me to.” He offered.
“I don’t know, I’ve never talked to him.” She said, looking out the back window for the fifth or sixth time in two minutes.
“Then why don’t you talk to him?” Ty started to pull over, but Sav reached over the seat and pushed on his arm, turning the steering wheel back into place.
“Don’t.” her voice was flat. “You don’t understand. Have you ever met a nice panther? One who isn’t involved in anything sketchy or illegal? No? Well I haven’t either, and I’m related to hundreds of them. I don’t want a controlling mate who’s gonna get thrown in jail in the next six months, and I definitely don’t want to get locked up with him.” She hissed.
“Okay, okay.” He raised a hand in surrender. “I’m driving. Has your cotie changed yet? What if he’s the wrong guy?”
“He’s the right one.” She said, seriously. “My cotie has gone whack a few times, I know it’s him.”
“Have you ever seen him before?” Ty continued questioning. I already knew the answers to all the questions, but I let him ask.
“Yeah. I was in a coffee shop once, the first time it started ti
ngling. The only guy in there was old, like 35 or 40. I don’t care if it means having only half a soul, I’m not being mates with someone the same age as my dad.”
She glanced behind us again, then flipped her head around. The blood drained from her face.
“Eff.” Her hands started shaking. “It’s tingling again.” She wiggled her right arm, which was covered in shimmery black lines that made up her cotie. Every type of shifter has their cotie in a different place, and for panthers, the “mate marks” stretched up and down their entire right arm. “Drive faster.” She commanded.
I could read the terror in her eyes, and I felt bad that she was so afraid. Sav had been through plenty, and I didn’t want to see her suffer because of the man who was supposed to love her.
“He left you a flower, how bad can he be?” Ty protested, though I watched the needle on the speedometer rise quickly.
“That’s creepy!” She shrieked, surprising us both. “What kind of stalker leaves a flower on a sleeping woman? I just hope he didn’t rifle through my suitcase too.” She continued to shake her right arm.
“It’s going to be okay.” I assured her.
“Drive faster!” Savanna was growing more and more desperate by the minute.
“Here, I have an idea.” Ty said. “Hold on tight.”
He ripped the steering wheel to the right, jerking the car into the sketchiest U-turn I’d ever experienced, and the only U-turn I’d ever experience on the highway. Savanna and I screamed, holding on for dear life as Ty turned us into the lanes going the opposite direction we’d been driving in. Luckily, both lanes were empty.
He hit the gas, and flew down the highway until we reached an old road covered in potholes.
“This is going to be bumpy.” He warned, but we flew down the badly-paved road.
After about a hundred backward glances and an incredibly long eight minutes down a straight but rough road, Savanna was finally calmed down enough to breathe normally again.
“Lee, will you trade me souls? I think I’m falling in love with your man a little.” As strange as it sounds, the comment relaxed me. Terrified Savanna wouldn’t make jokes like that.