by S. E. Smith
“I’m not leaving,” Ty stated firmly. “I’ll help you get ready for it. I’ll be damned if you’re staying with Mitchell.”
Jayden glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him a strange, startled look. He grinned at her and shrugged his shoulders. Her eyes widened when she saw him glance at Ella before returning her questioning look.
“Oh, my,” Jayden whispered, turning back to watch where she was going. “Ella, I think this is a lot more complicated than you realize.”
“I already figured that out,” Ella muttered, slowing as they neared the village. She turned to look at him. “Wait here until I call for you.”
“Why?” He started to argue when she stepped forward and gently laid her fingers against his lips. Her eyes were wide with worry. He reached up and tenderly cupped her hand in his. Pressing a kiss to her fingers, he reluctantly nodded in agreement. “I’ll wait until you call me.”
He ignored Jayden when she stared at him like he had just sprouted horns. Jayden snapped her mouth shut and shook her head before turning to hurry after Ella. Sliding his cold hands into his pockets, he grimaced when he thought that he had touched Ella with them. She deserved warmth, not icicles.
His gaze remained locked on Ella as she strode with confident, determined strides toward, Mitchell, the man who she had talked to last night. He frowned when Mitchell said something sharp to her. She shook her head and began talking in a low, urgent tone.
Whatever she was saying was drawing the attention of the others. Mitchell looked back in the direction Ty was standing. He knew that Mitchell couldn’t see him. He was about to take a step forward when he sensed something behind him. Before he could turn, a sharp pain exploded in his head and darkness descended.
Chapter 11
Ella turned when she heard the loud yell from behind her. Her eyes widened in horror and she started to twist away from Mitchell. Connell and Jace were half carrying and half dragging Ty by his arms into the village.
“Let me go!” Ella hissed, struggling to break free from Mitchell’s grasp around her waist.
“Wait, Ella,” Mitchell ordered.
“NO!” She cried out when she saw the blood dripping down the side of Ty’s face.
“Damn it, Ella,” Mitchell said hoarsely when she suddenly turned and kneed him in the groin before striking him across the face.
Ella bolted the moment his arm fell away from her. She reached Ty just as Connell and Jace dropped him face down onto the soft ground. Falling to her knees, she quickly made sure he was still breathing before searching for the area where the blood was coming from.
“What did you do to him?” She demanded, glaring up at the two men standing there looking at her as if she had lost her mind. “What did you do to him?” She repeated.
“We saw him standing in the woods. He was scouting the village,” Jace explained, looking toward Mitchell where he was now sitting up. “We knew from the way he was dressed that he wasn’t human.”
“He’s not,” Ella whispered, reaching down to slice part of her shirt so she could use it as a compress.
“Here,” Jayden said, stepping forward and holding out a cloth.
“Thank you,” Ella murmured, taking the cloth and holding it against the wound. “There’s so much blood.”
“Head wounds tend to bleed a lot,” Thomas explained, stepping forward. “Who is he? What is he doing here?”
“His name is Ty Bearclaw. He is a grizzly-shifter,” Ella said, looking over at Mitchell who was staring at her. “He is the shifter from the pit.”
“He’s hunted us down,” Mallory whispered, moving to stand near Jayden. “We have to kill him.”
“What if there are others? Mitchell, what are we going to do? We are just now settling in. It’s supposed to snow tonight, where will we go?” Another of the women asked hoarsely.
“We’ve got to set traps! We’ll kill them all,” Bert stated, reaching for his bow and arrows.
“No! He’s alone,” Ella cried out as more calls to kill Ty echoed through the crowd. “He came here to meet with Mitchell. He wanted to show you that things are different; that the shifters won’t kill us.”
“How do you know what he wants, Ella?” Anna asked with a frown.
Ella’s vision blurred for a moment, but she blinked the tears away. Her jaw tightened until it ached. She gently pulled the cloth away from the deep cut on the back of Ty’s head.
“I went to his camp the last few days. We’ve… talked. He showed me things, pictures of the world outside.” She looked up at Anna before turning her head to gaze at Mitchell. “There is no way we can fight them. The world has changed. We’ve seen the evidence in the sky and heard the sounds. He showed me pictures of what made them. They have cities, unlike anything we have ever seen.” She drew in a deep breath before looking back at Anna, Bert, and the others. “He said the shifters would not kill us now. That killing us would be against their laws.”
“Their laws don’t exist for us because we don’t exist to them,” Bert pointed out in a harsh voice. “You have broken the trust of the clan, Ella. You have brought the beasts to us, endangering us all by your selfishness.”
“Selfishness?” Ella repeated, her eyes beginning to burn with anger. “I’m not the selfish one, old man, you and the other elders are! You are the ones who foster our fear. You are the ones who want us to mate just to keep our species alive. We are dead already! You are just too stubborn to accept it!”
“You are young and do not understand, Ella,” Anna interjected.
“Regardless, she violated the trust of the clan,” Rand said. “Bert is right. She has brought the beasts to us without thought of the consequences.”
“The penalty is banishment,” Bert added with a wave of his hand. “Kill the beast, and Ella must leave.”
“No,” Ella whispered, leaning protectively over Ty when she saw Mitchell rise to his feet. Her eyes locked with his. “Mitchell, listen to me. He means us no harm. He wanted to meet with you to explain that.”
“The elders have ruled, Mitchell. As leader, it is your responsibility to follow the law of the clan,” Bert insisted.
Ella watched as Mitchell stared down at Ty’s limp figure. His eyes filled with regret. Dread and despair filled her when she saw him turn his attention to Bert. She reached for her lance and rose to her feet. She would fight anyone who tried to harm Ty. If it meant they both died, then so be it.
“I understand the laws of the clan, Bert, but I won’t kill a defenseless man – whether he be a beast or a human. We will return him to his camp and leave him. He will either survive or not with the storm coming. As for Ella….” Mitchell turned to stare at her. “If I claim her as my wife, she is given my protection and cannot be banished. I will accept the responsibility of her punishment.”
“No,” Ella whispered, shaking her head. “No. I do not accept your claim.”
“Ella, if you don’t, you won’t survive the night,” Mitchell growled, stepping closer to her.
“If you just dump Ty at his camp, neither will he,” Ella replied with a shake of her head. “I will stay with him until he can call for help.”
“Help! He will call for the Others to hunt us down! You must kill him,” Bert ordered, growing louder as his anger grew. “Mitchell, you will follow the orders of the elders.”
Mitchell turned to glare at Bert. “I am the leader of this clan,” he snapped. “I take the wishes of the elders into consideration; I do not take orders from them.”
“If you will not kill him, then I will,” Bert snarled, stepping forward with his lance.
Ella saw the movement and lifted her own to defend Ty. She was shocked when Jayden stepped in front of Bert and struck him across his forearm with her bow. Bert jumped back in surprise and shock.
“I follow my leader,” Jayden growled, stepping in front of Ella and Ty. “I also knew about the beast’s presence. If you ban Ella, then I should be banned as well.”
“Jayden, no,” Mallor
y cried out, reaching for her daughter.
“Jayden, no,” Ella whispered. “This is not your battle.”
Jayden turned to stare first at Ty before her sad gaze locked with Ella’s. “Isn’t it?” She whispered. “We talked about this, Ella. I won’t be forced to mate just to reproduce either.”
Ella stepped forward and touched Jayden’s cheek. Jayden might be younger by almost a year, but life had forced her to grow up fast. A sad smile curved Ella’s lips and she shook her head.
“We complain about the beasts, but are we so different from them?” Ella murmured. Stepping back again, she raised her chin in defiance. “Take him back to his camp. I will stay with him until he can call for his people.”
“We will need to move the village again,” Bert declared, glaring at Ella. “Ella must still be banished.”
Ella refused to cower in front of those staring at her. She turned and knelt down next to Ty instead. A few minutes later, she watched as Connell, Jace, and Mitchell lifted Ty onto a stretcher and started out of the village. She could hear the sounds of the children crying and the quiet arguments of several of the women with the elders.
Soon, even that faded and the only sounds were the wind and the heavy breathing of the men as they carried Ty through the woods. A little over an hour later, they reached Ty’s camp. Ella absently brushed at a flake before she realized the snow had started to fall.
“If you could put him inside his lean-to, I would appreciate it,” she instructed in a husky tone.
“Ella!” Jayden’s breathless voice called out from behind them.
Ella turned and watched as Jayden hurried toward her with a large, leather knapsack. She held it out to her. Ella reached for it with a frown.
“I packed up your things,” Jayden said. “I also added some food. It isn’t much, but it should get you through a few days.”
“The elders…,” Ella started to say with a worried frown.
Jayden shook her head. “They have their hands full at the moment. Everyone is mad at them. Even mom is furious. She isn’t speaking to dad,” she replied with a strained smile. “Mitchell….”
“I told Jayden to gather your things. We will be moving the village again. There are some caves in the lower region of the mountains. They are about a two day hike from here. I planned to move the clan there anyway. Connell, Jace, Jayden, and I have been working on it the last few weeks since we found them. It will provide better protection than the trees. Once he is gone, head northwest along the river,” Mitchell instructed.
“The elders…,” Ella started to say again before she pressed her lips firmly together when he shook his head.
“While I agree that you should have told me sooner about the beast being here, I also meant what I said about the fact that I am the leader of the clan. They will follow my lead or there will be consequences. The only reason I’m allowing you to stay here, Ella, is because I know you would fight me every step of the way if I tried to leave him here while he is defenseless. I just hope I’m not making a mistake that I will live to regret,” he said with a sigh.
Ella reached out and touched Mitchell’s arm. Rising up on her toes, she brushed a kiss across his cheek before stepping back. Her gaze moved to Connell and Jace standing silently nearby. She could see the regret and worry in both their eyes.
“He won’t hurt me,” Ella reassured them.
Jace finally relaxed enough to shake his head. “If he does, I’ll track him down and skin his mangy hide in whichever form I find him,” he swore.
“Same here,” Connell replied. “Believe it or not, Ella, we feel the same way that you and Jayden do. It was one of the reasons we’ve supported Mitchell as our leader.”
“We need to find out more about their world,” Ella murmured, glancing toward the tent before she looked up. “The snow is getting heavier. You’d best go.”
“Two days northwest, at the foot of the tallest mountain. Just follow the river and you’ll find us,” Mitchell ordered.
Ella nodded. Deep down, she wasn’t sure if she would ever see them again. The fear of being alone almost choked her before she forced herself to nod and step toward the tent. There was a lot to do before nightfall, the first of which was making sure that Ty survived.
“I’ll come for you if you don’t show up, Ella,” Jayden swore. “Be safe, big sister.”
Ella’s lips curved and she raised her hand. “Be safe, little sister,” she whispered in return, watching as the small group turned and disappeared into the trees.
*.*.*
Ella shivered as she finished the last of the preparations that she could for the night. The wind had picked up until it was howling. The snow was falling steadily now and had begun to stick. This was going to be a difficult night.
The first thing she did was pack and wrap the wound on Ty’s head. Jayden had slipped a poultice into the bag as well. Mallory or Thomas must have given it to her. After figuring out how Ty’s sleeping pallet worked, she tucked him inside it.
Sliding back out of the thin fabric lean-to, she had set to work gathering as much firewood as she could. There was quite a bit down near the river so she had collected and piled it near the fire pit. Her gaze continued to wander between the mountains in the northwest and to the sky. Finally, the growing darkness and the cold drove her back into the lean-to.
She pulled the small metal tab, amazed at how the tiny teeth opened and closed. Crawling back inside, she twisted and pulled the tab down. She was amazed at how much warmer the interior was considering the thinness of the fabric.
Ella glanced down at Ty. His face was pale, but he was breathing evenly. Her biggest concern was the fact that he had not woken up. Rubbing her hands together, she breathed on them to warm them a little before placing one against his forehead. He groaned and turned his face into her palm.
“You are safe now,” Ella whispered, not sure if he could hear her or not.
“Ella…,” Ty murmured groggily, not opening his eyes.
“Yes, I’m here. How do you feel?” She asked, leaning closer to him.
He slowly opened his eyes and blinked. There was a groggy, disoriented look to them. Ella wished she had more light to see his pupils. She was pretty sure he had the brain bruise that Thomas often mentioned when someone had a head injury. Thomas said you could tell if one eye looked different than the other.
“Head hurts like hell,” he mumbled.
Ella chuckled. “That often happens when you get hit there,” she agreed.
“I have some medicine in my bag,” he muttered. “It will help the pain.”
“Where is it?” She asked, turning to look at the large pack leaning against the wall of the lean-to.
“Front pocket, small white bottle,” he replied.
It took Ella a few frustrating minutes to learn how to undo the opening and then the bottle. She finally was able to open the top by lining up the two arrows on it. Unsure how many she should give him, she decided that she would start with two.
“Here,” she said, twisting back around. She gently slid her hand under his neck and helped him rise up enough to place the small round pebbles into his mouth. “I have water.”
She pulled her water pouch toward herself and used her teeth to pull the stopper off the top. Holding it up against his lips, she allowed a small amount to pour into his mouth. Once he swallowed, she gave him a little more before he grunted that he was done.
“Where are we?” He asked in a husky voice.
“In your lean-to,” she replied with a sigh and lowered his head back to the thick cover. “I told you it was too dangerous to come to the village.”
A barely audible chuckle slipped past Ty’s lips before he moaned and lifted a hand to his head. Looking down, she scowled at him when he cracked his eyelids open just enough to look at her with amusement. Shaking her head, she folded her arms.
“What is so funny about being almost killed?” She demanded in a slightly haughty voice.
“That y
ou are already telling me I-told-you-so,” he replied before he winced and closed his eyes.
“What if you are hurt worse than we know?” She asked in a small, husky voice. “They hit you hard. There is a deep gash in your head and you slept for a long time.”
“I’ll be okay, Ella. A shifter’s bones are very thick and we heal very quickly. I’ll be fine by morning,” he promised her.
Ella took the hand that he lifted and held it against her chest. He squeezed her hand just hard enough that she could feel the truth behind his words. A shiver ran through her at the feel of his rough palm against her hand. She sat holding his hand until she felt him relax back into what she hoped was a healing sleep.
Outside, the wind howled and raged, trying to rip through the thin fabric that cocooned them inside. The temperature was dropping and Ella worried about her clansmen. It would be a long, long night for them. She could only hope that their homes could withstand the ferociousness of the storm.
She was about to lie down next to Ty, exhausted from the stress of the day when she heard a slight chime followed by a vibration. Unsure of what it was, she felt around the padded bed. The chiming and vibration stopped, only to start up again almost at once. Opening the bedding, Ella ran her hand along Ty’s leg until she felt a slight bulge in one of the pockets of his pants.
She glanced at Ty when he mumbled in his sleep, but didn’t wake. Biting her lip, she carefully pulled the pocket open and stuck her hand inside. She pulled out a small box similar to the one he had shown her before, except this one was a bright yellow.
She was turning it over when it began to vibrate again. Startled, she dropped it. The surface lit up and had writing on it. Glancing back at Ty, she carefully picked up the box and pressed the red button. It immediately stopped making noise and vibrating. Disappointed, she was about to put it back when it started once again. This time, she pressed the green button.
“Ty, damn it, you’d better not hang up on me again,” a woman’s voice growled.
Ella picked up the box and stared at it in awe. It was talking to her. A woman was inside it and was talking, well, not to her, but to Ty. A woman…