by Amelia Jade
“This doesn’t have to end in a fight,” Major Eidelhorn called out.
“Agreed,” a voice said from the other side.
Aksel’s eyes narrowed as a tall figure separated itself from the others. The man was clearly their leader, and he acted like it too. The swagger to his stride instantly made Aksel want to punch him in the face.
He hated arrogance. It was unbecoming of a shifter.
“So,” the other man said, still speaking, “If you agree to surrender unconditionally, there won’t be a fight.”
“You misunderstand,” Captain Klein replied. “We’re here for your surrender.”
The enemy leader looked at the men assembled behind him, and then back across the empty space at the much smaller Cadian lines.
“I have you outnumbered almost two to one.”
“Should we wait for you to summon some more friends to make it an even fight then?” Aksel called before his superiors could speak.
“He dies first,” the leader said, jabbing a finger at Aksel.
The only response to his threat was the sound of dozens of throats growling, filling the cavern as the Cadian shifters denied his threat, tightening ranks on either side of Aksel. Even the captain and major took a half step forward, putting themselves just that little bit farther between himself and danger.
It was a heartwarming moment for Aksel, knowing that he engendered such respect from both his men and his superiors, that they were willing to defend him like that.
Not that he had any intention of letting them.
“Let’s do that then,” he called. “You and me. Losing force goes home.”
The enemy paused in his pacing, regarding Aksel. For a long moment, he thought it was going to work, that he could challenge this asshole to solo combat, and end it all without anyone else dying. Even if Aksel were to die, he figured he could buy enough time that the heavy Cadian forces he was positive were even now assembling on the outside and digging their way down to them would reach the cavern.
All he needed to do was buy them time.
“I have a better idea,” the Fenris leader said finally.
He snapped his fingers.
“You all die.”
And the mob of Fenris shifters surged forward without warning, bearing down on the Cadian lines at full charge.
Chapter Fifteen
Nina
She crept along the passageway.
For the longest time the noise of several hundred shifters moving through the tunnel had masked any noise she was making. But a minute or so ago the noise had quieted and then disappeared completely.
Nina knew she had no business being down in the tunnel. She wasn’t combat trained.
Combat trained? Listen to yourself, girl. You’ve never even shifted before! And yet now you want to get involved in a huge shifter brawl? What the fuck is wrong with you?
It was a good question, and one she didn’t have an answer to. Nina had tried to wait outside the tunnel mouth with the half dozen other shifters posted there, but less than a minute after the main body had followed Aksel in, she couldn’t bear it any longer.
Before any of the sentries could react, she’d bolted into the hole and followed them on the long run through the mineshaft. The power in her body continued to astound her as she ran, and ran, and ran, far longer than any human could have maintained the pace she was moving at, let alone barely being winded by.
She was literally a superhuman now. Her muscles sang with strength and her blood felt…different. She wasn’t sure she could describe it. But she felt good. Really good.
The shaft itself opened up ahead of her, and Nina came to a halt as she saw the backs of the arrayed shifters out in the cavern.
Standing up, she peeked around several of the heads of the taller shifters, trying to see who was shouting. Her eyes widened as the view beyond the Cadian lines came into focus, just as a mob of angry faces came rushing at it.
Shouts went up from close by and dozens of Cadians leapt forward, trying to cancel out some of the momentum of the enemy charge.
Nina stared in horror as the brawl broke out everywhere, most of the Cadians outnumbered two, and in some cases even three or four to one.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that even with all the men Aksel and his team had been able to assemble, they were still heavily outnumbered.
We’re going to need every advantage we can get if we’re going to come out ahead.
Nina felt her eyes widen slightly at her mental use of the term “we,” but even as they did, she shrugged it off. It was true, she was part of them now. Whether it was her bond with Aksel, or the fact that she was now a shifter—and didn’t that just boggle the mind still!—it was still true. Nina was a shifter, and her friends, her allies, needed her help.
The only question was…what the fuck could she do to help?
In her mind she felt the presence of her bear stir. It was buried beneath thousands of tons of rock, unable to escape and wreak havoc, but she could still feel it when it came aware. Like now. Her eyes became slits as she tried to keep a sliver of her attention on the fight in front of her, while also attempting to comprehend what her bear was saying.
She didn’t know how Aksel did it so easily.
Images began to flood through her brain. They were of her, she realized, standing exactly where she was. Except…something was different. She was growing, and altering form.
It was of her shifting! Nina watched as she transformed into a bear in her mind’s eye, a large, powerful beast. Then it leapt forward and into the fray, a berserker on the loose.
Suddenly she understood what the beast within was trying to say. It knew how to fight as a bear. It could help her, ensure that she could contribute to the fight.
Roars began to echo through the chamber as the battle shifted from one between humans, to a mix of bears versus humans. Nearby, she saw a Cadian shifter falling back as a bear came at it, unable to take the time to shift himself.
She was useless as a human. She had no idea how to fight, even with her newfound strength. But as a bear, she could be of some help.
Stick to the rear, help out only those in trouble, and constantly be aware of my surroundings. Okay, bear. How the hell do I do this?
An image came to mind, of a passageway being created in the cage she’d built. The message was clear, she had to free it.
Promise not to go crazy and try and kill me or anything?
An image of Aksel came to mind.
More important things than fighting each other right now. Got it. Okay, here goes nothing…
She pictured the rocks in her mind melting away, forming an exit from the cave she’d imprisoned it in. Nina braced herself mentally, expecting the bear to come flying out and attack her.
But it didn’t. Instead it appeared as sheer light. Her eyes opened as the transformation began. Her limbs lengthened and thickened, swelling with a power that dwarfed even what she’d been feeling as a shifter.
Now this was strength! Her spine and skull altered so that her head would be properly oriented, and fur sprouted everywhere, a tough, coarse hide that she knew would come in handy shortly for deflecting blows and absorbing blood.
Okay. Let’s go help, but cautiously.
She felt her bear slip into the driver’s seat of her body. Unwilling to give it full control, Nina sort of draped herself over its presence, linking herself to it mentally, so that if it tried something, she would be right there to prevent it.
The Cadian shifter she’d seen earlier went down, having finally been unable to avoid a blow from the bear.
Nina growled and her bear shot forward at an unbelievable speed, taking the enemy shifter in the side. They went down in a heap and for the first time she tasted the unmistakable iron tang of blood as her powerful jaws ripped and tore at the throat and neck of her foe.
The enemy bellowed in pain, and while Nina almost relented, her bear dug in furiously. She wanted to stop it. Nobody needed to
die! With a savage mental effort she pulled her bear back, off of the other shifter. The fight was over; she’d won. There was no—
Wounded or not, the Fenris shifter didn’t seem to care. It took advantage of her reprieve and leapt to its feet and hit her in the side. Nina and her bear roared in pain as her thick, tough skin was shredded by razor-sharp claws and teeth sunk into her flank, drawing yet more blood.
Treachery! She’d been prepared to show mercy, to let the shifter live. Anger flared within Nina, flowing red like the blood down her sides as it clouded her vision.
Fuck this little shit if he thought he was going to get the best of her. Nina unleashed her bear and the two of them operating one body leapt back at their foe. It was tough going now, because clearly this one had training, and she didn’t. Nina had relied on surprise at first, but she no longer had that, and it was beginning to show.
Fuck fuck fuck. What the hell do I do now?
Her bear slipped on a pool of blood and fell to its side, presenting an opening. Her attacker lunged in for the kill.
But he never made it, as the Cadian shifter she’d saved charged back into the fray, having had time to recover and shift himself. The difference in brutality was starkly clear in her mind as she watched her ally maul her would-be killer. Giant paws slapped against its face and sides, flaying flesh from bone even as its jaws sunk deep into the neck and then shook violently.
Blood sprayed everywhere, and then it was over.
The unnamed shifter looked at her oddly, dipped his head, and then took off into the battle to help yet another Cadian shifter in trouble.
Which is exactly what I need to be doing.
Turning around, Nina saw that there were more than just bear shifters in the cavern. To her left, apart from most of the battle, a pair of wolves were ganging up on a lone leopard. Nina had no idea how she knew, but it was instantly clear to her that the leopard was a Cadian.
She had to help.
Growling, she took off across the empty space, darting around several bodies as she took the first wolf in the side, simply shouldering it out of the way. The big canine yelped in pain as it hit the side of a stalagmite and crumpled to the floor, one of its legs rendered unusable by the blow.
But Nina didn’t care; she was already bearing down on the second attacker. It turned to see what was going on, only to take one of her massive paws to the face. The blow snapped the much smaller animal’s neck around and it collapsed, her attack having severed its spine.
Nina almost paused in shock, but she turned and finished off the already-injured wolf, both appalled and satisfied with her own savagery.
This was the shifter way, she thought. It’s not pretty, but if her bear hadn’t done it, another would have.
With a nod the leopard took off.
Nina took a deep breath and looked out over the battle. It was shifting and see-sawing across the floor. The Cadian lines were getting pushed back, the weight of numbers beginning to tell.
Her eyes roamed the lines, looking for Aksel, wonder if her bear would be able to spot him in the commotion.
Would it even know him if it saw him?
Nina still wasn’t sure how her bear could tell friend from foe when they all looked similar, but it could, and with ease.
She spun as the sound of claws on rock warned her at the last second.
The enemy bear was already mid-air, and there was only one option open to Nina. She flexed her legs and shot forward, lumbering down from the slight rise she’d been on. Behind her she could hear the attacker scrabble for purchase and then resume its pursuit, chasing her through the cavern.
Nina ducked around stalagmites and leapt rocks, trying anything to put some distance between the two, but her pursuer was relentless. It followed her every move, slowly closing the gap.
She was in trouble.
***
Aksel
The battle was fully joined now, and shifters on both sides were dying in numbers that made him sick to his stomach. Of his original twenty-four men, Aksel was down to just sixteen effectives. Two had retreated with injuries so bad they couldn’t be of any use. But that was still thirty percent casualties. The rest of the Cadian force was suffering about the same, perhaps slightly more.
Yes, we’ve taken down more than that number of Fenris shifters, but there are just too many of them.
He was marshaling the men around him as the Cadians retreated. They would fight back to the tunnel, where the numbers would no longer be of use, as only one or two shifters side by side could fight. There, he hoped, the superior training of his men would allow them to prevail.
Around them the entire cavern seemed to be shaking as titanic beasts collided, parted, and charged at each other once again. Aksel could swear he felt the floor vibrating with the power of an earthquake.
The bear across from him moved too slowly and Aksel ripped out its throat with almost careless ease. The slaughter going on around him made him sick with how little he cared.
A blur of motion on the far side of the enemy lines caught his attention. He swore. A lone Cadian bear was being pursued by a much larger Fenris shifter. It was losing the race. By this point it was already cut off from retreat. Whoever it was, was effectively dead, they just didn’t know it.
He narrowed his eyes as something familiar about the bear’s movements caught his eye. Was it one of his squad?!
No, he decided after a second. Not them. It was too small of a bear for that. The size of it was such that he almost thought it was female.
Aksel’s stomach did a flip before twisting itself into knots.
NINA!
His mate was in mortal danger.
Aksel was torn. He couldn’t abandon the line, couldn’t leave his men alone.
But if he didn’t, Nina would die. His men at least were combat-trained, veterans one and all. They would survive without him. Nina wouldn’t.
His mind made up, he snarled a warning to his team and then did the last thing the enemy expected. He charged right at them, not even slowing down. His beast was a behemoth wrecking machine as he knocked one, then two enemy shifters aside, simply blowing through them like a linebacker with a running start.
Nina was still trying her best to evade her pursuer, but he was right on her tail now. Even as Aksel closed, the unknown Fenris shifter reached out and swiped one of her hind legs out from under her. Nina spilled to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Aksel charged across the distance, hearing the sound of pursuit. He frowned at the sheer number of shifters coming after him. It sounded far more than the two or three he’d suspected. He almost risked a glance over his shoulder, but he didn’t have time.
Flexing his legs, Aksel threw himself across the remaining distance, landing on the back of Nina’s attacker. His momentum took them both to the ground, though Aksel got the worst of it. He rolled to his feet and prepared to fight, but stopped as he realized it was pointless.
The rest of his squad was finishing off the attacker for him.
They were currently alone on the far side of the Fenris lines, and the enemy were only now assembling some men to come to deal with them. Aksel took a chance and shifted back to human form.
“Have y’all fucking lost it?” he cursed at the seven remaining members of “his” squad, the one he’d led into Cloud Lake in the first place.
The second squad, it seemed, had stayed with the Cadian lines. Even now they were part of the rearguard as they began to retreat into the tunnel.
“With all due respect, sir,” came the reply. “We’re a squad, we stick together. If you don’t like it, respectfully fuck off.”
Aksel grinned, slapping his men on the shoulders as he moved to Nina’s side. “Well, it looks like we’re going to die together,” he said matter-of-factly, looking at the nearly thirty shifters now approaching.
“I can think of worse ways to go,” Nina said, finishing shifting back to human form and throwing her arms around him.
He kiss
ed her, full on the lips. It might be the last time he ever did, so he made sure to make it a good one.
The approaching bears began returning to human form as well. Aksel spitefully gave them a modicum more of respect. At least they weren’t going to mow his men down like helpless animals, but would instead give them a fighting chance.
The shaking of the cavern grew worse.
He glanced over at the shaft opening, wondering if something had changed. But the Cadian lines were now just a small arc, continually backing into the shaft, leaving a wake of dead and mangled bodies as they went. The closer to the opening they got, the higher the percentage of Fenris dead among the corpses.
Aksel felt a thrill of pride as he realized most of his friends would escape, and were making Fenris pay dearly for each additional victim.
Not that that would matter in a minute as the tidal wave of approaching shifters rolled over him and his men.
And Nina.
“What is that shaking?” she asked, clinging to him as she watched the approaching wave of death.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Nina,” he said, switching subjects. “There’s something I should tell you. Before…” he trailed off, not wanting to discuss their impending deaths.
“What is it?” She looked him in the eye, and for just a moment Aksel let himself fall into her baby blue eyes, framed by her lovely blonde hair.
Damn she was gorgeous.
“I just want you to know…” he paused, swallowing a lump that appeared suddenly in his throat.
“Yes?” she whispered.
He took a deep breath. They had but seconds now.
“I love you,” he said, the words tumbling out in a rush.
The Fenris shifters charged.
Around him, Aksel’s squad formed a defensive line, to protect the couple at its center.
“I love you too,” she returned, kissing him fiercely, and then hauling him to his feet. “Now let’s make these bastards pay dearly for killing us,” she snarled.
Together, the couple turned to face their ends, hand in hand.