Tawny’s stomach tightened in fear. “I can’t do that,” she cried.
Matt gave her a reassuring look. “I’ll be close by the whole time. It’s risky, I won’t lie about that, but… this may be our only shot.”
“And then what?” Bradly pressed.
“And then — ” Matt hesitated for a moment. “Then the warriors will meet up with me, and we attack at night. Our vision is much better than theirs, and they won’t be expecting it.”
“We attack as humans?” Bradly scoffed.
Matt gave him a stern look. “No,” he said flatly.
Bradly thought for a moment, then his eyes brightened. He heaved a tired sigh. “Okay,” he said. “It’s all we have, but it just might work.”
Tawny followed Matt to the edge of the settlement, and she grasped his hand before he shifted.
“It’s possible that one or both of us will die tonight, isn’t it?” she asked, her voice weak and frightened.
He turned to her, his caring eyes meeting her gaze directly, and he nodded.
She led him out into a grove of trees, walked a few steps ahead and stood to face him. She turned her eyes to the grassy soil and slowly stripped her clothes off. He watched without saying a word, his eyes taking in her exposed body with awe. She left her clothes on the ground and stepped over to him, laying his muscular form gently on the ground. Painful tears filled her eyes as she straddled him and rubbed her slick labia over his hardening penis.
“I’m so sorry for earlier,” she moaned softly. “God — here we are, not sure if we’ll have any more time together, and I assaulted you.”
She slid him inside of her, groaning as he went in deep. He didn’t say anything, only watched her, mesmerized, his wet eyes gleaming.
Tawny rocked her body over him dutifully, eager to make him come at least one last time for her. She watched as his body relaxed and his face tightened in pleasure. He tenderly fondled her heaving breasts and hard nipples. Then he began to stiffen and she grabbed at his chest with both hands. She thrust her body swiftly over him, watching with quiet excitement as Matt shook and jerked in orgasm.
She rocked back and forth slowly a few more times, then reached down and touched his face softly. He looked into her eyes, his gaze serene and content.
“I...” Tawny began, then hesitated. “I don’t want to lose you,” she said finally.
He looked away, his face suddenly sullen.
Chapter 24
Tawny was shaking when they spotted The Path’s camp just off the trail. They waited, watching in the darkness, the campsite lit by nothing more than dying campfire embers.
“The horses are over along the edge of camp, down at the base of that large pine,” Matt whispered, motioning to the silhouette of a towering tree. “Approach from the front of the horses, never from the back, and walk up slowly. Lead them out, one at a time, and get them trotting back toward town. Got it?”
Tawny grimaced, but nodded. As she slipped into the night she felt horribly alone in the dark. She found her footing carefully, frightened of making noise. A moment later, she heard the horses neighing softly, and she made her way over to them.
She nearly ran into the first horse, a large white animal. It was startled when she emerged from the bushes, but she hushed it softly and cautiously felt for its reins. Her eyes searched in the dark, and in a moment she was able to make out three horses in all.
It took a long, tense moment for her to untie the knot, but her fingers worked deftly in the blackness to feel out the leather strand. She turned her back to the horse and it seemed to willingly follow her up along the narrow path leading back to the main trail. Once in the clear, Tawny led the horse down the path towards town, letting go of the reins and patting it lightly on the hindquarters as it passed by her.
She waited for a moment, listening, and was amazed to hear it trotting further along the trail, eager to return home.
Before she could manage a sigh of relief, she realized there were still two more horses to release. The second one was just as easy to manage, and she led him for several yards before letting him run free.
Tawny paused for a moment to steady her nerves, then made her way back along the little path to where the horses were being kept, walking quietly.
A sudden beam of light cut through the darkness, settling on the last horse. Tawny dove off the path, curling as best she could into the thick brush. Her heart thudded in panic and she tried hard not to breathe as she listened to the soldier’s avid cursing.
The beam swung through the woods and Tawny let out a low whimper as it passed over her.
She froze. The light now focused on the area around her, and she heard footsteps getting closer. They stopped suddenly, and Tawny pulled her head down between her knees as far as she was able.
“What the fuck?” the old soldier grunted.
Tawny heard him step closer to her, draw his gun, and pull the hammer back. She looked up to see the barrel of the handgun aimed at her face and she drew in panicked breath to scream.
Then he was gone... instantly. His hulking form was yanked away and into the blackness; his gun dropped to the damp ground in front of her face. She heard a brief, quiet struggle, and then silence.
“Get the last one out of there,” Matt growled softly into her ear as he padded up to her. “Set the last horse loose, then take cover on the other side of the trail. You’ll find a rocky overhang where you can hide. Stay there, no matter what you hear.”
“I can’t,” Tawny sobbed as quietly as she could. “I’m scared.”
“There’s no one else around, Tawny,” Matt assured her. “He was the only one on this side of camp. Just be quick, and be quiet. It’ll be alright.”
Tawny hurried down the trail, untied the last horse, and led it quickly up the trail. Her blood turned cold as she heard low growls somewhere along the trail leading toward town. She led the horse in that direction and turned it loose.
She stood on the trail and waited, listening. Long minutes passed in silence, but then she heard the rustling of leaves as large animals trounced through the trees, their fur occasionally glinting in the last embers of firelight as they slipped into camp.
Tawny was awed as the first advance struck quickly, quietly. She could hear the tents being torn open and muffled screams as men began to die. A disquieting sadness sank into her stomach as she listened.
The first shots were fired, with bright flashes illuminating the chaos below. Tawny hurried off the trail and took cover, searching out the rocky overhang and waiting there as more shots rang out nearby. She huddled behind a rocky knoll, quietly, tears of worry running down over her cheeks.
The battle raged in the darkness, the crack of guns unable to conceal the cries of pain. Sometime before morning the air grew quiet, with only the occasional shot fired. As dawn climbed over the distant mountains, Tawny found the nerve to venture from her hiding place. She made her way slowly up to the main trail and looked down over the devastation below.
Her heart felt crushed when she saw several bears lying motionless among the dead. She covered her face in horror, realizing she couldn’t recognize Matt as a bear among the others. Her eyes searched frantically over the bodies, but she couldn’t spot any distinguishing features.
Many of the Path members were leaving the camp, marching back down along the trail, leaving their guns behind. Some weren’t even dressed. She felt a glimmer of hope when she spotted Thomas among them with his hands clenched behind his head, still chiding his soldiers for their lack of bravery. It took Tawny only a moment to realize the clan had emerged victorious.
She hurried down into the camp, running amid the bears as they chased the last of the soldiers out. She spun around and around, hoping to hear Matt’s voice, but only heard the groaning of the wounded and dying.
She saw one large bear milling among the bodies. She watched him carefully, wondering if it was Matt. The bear was rolling the dead over and sniffing at them. One of the bodies moan
ed as it was rolled, and the bear roared and clenched its jaws around the man’s neck.
Tawny retched, then hurried back up to the trail, her heart racing in her chest.
“Oh, thank God!” Matt’s gravelly voice rang out behind her. Tawny yelped in surprise and turned to see him lumbering up the trail to her. “You’re okay,” Matt sighed.
Tawny wrapped her arms around his furry neck and cuddled her face into him. “And you’re alive,” she breathed softly into his ear.
“We won,” he bellowed joyously. “It’s finally over.”
Tawny crawled up onto Matt, enjoying the feel of him beneath her, and let him carry her back into the settlement.
“And — and the horses — ” she began.
“We did what had to be done,” Matt growled quietly. “Please don’t ask me about it.”
Tawny watched the other shifters as they neared the settlement, bears shifting calmly back into men. Most of them were quite robust, with chiseled, bulging builds. Others were more sinewy and slender, but still toned, with hardened athletic lines along their naked bodies. Tawny struggled to control her gaze, but her instincts drove her to stare uncontrollably at the large muscles, exposed buttocks and ample packages. Those few who noticed her staring seemed unconcerned, and she eventually allowed herself to indulge gratuitously. She realized then that life there with the clan was something she could probably grow accustomed to.
Chapter 25
“The war is over,” Bradly proclaimed as the clan gathered around the fire later that same morning. Tawny stood on the outskirts of the gathering to watch, holding tightly onto Matt’s warm hand. A pleasant breeze tousled her hair, still damp from washing in the river with Matt earlier. They’d had just enough time to clean up and dress in some fresh clothes before the meeting.
“We will have a winter’s supply of food by the end of the day tomorrow, and when the soldiers return to their homes they are going to find the authorities waiting to arrest them for serious crimes against their own kind. The Path is no more! The Cold Foot Clan is triumphant once again!”
The shifters cheered in unison, a great cry of relief and victory.
“There were, however,” Bradly’s voice became suddenly remorseful, “several of us that did not return. Others were wounded, but are expected to fully recover. Although our losses were small considering the battle, we will vow not to forget the sacrifice made by those who gave their lives for ours.”
He shifted his weight, gazing quietly over the clan. “The vast majority of the enemy surrendered and returned home; there were relatively few losses of life. We should keep in mind that many of those men came to battle because they believed that we pose a threat to their community. They were lied to about the real purpose of the fight, and we need to remember that all of our losses were due to the selfish behavior of only a very few men.”
Some grumbling rolled through the crowd, but settled quickly.
“Now,” Bradly continued, “Let’s rest and make plans to retrieve the meat that The Path has accumulated.”
“I could sleep for days,” Matt whispered into Tawny’s ear. His breath tickled. “I need to meet with the council to plan to steal back the cured game, but I’ll meet you back at the cabin in a few minutes, okay?”
Tawny tenderly kissed his cheek, then his lips. “I’ll be waiting. We need to find a creative way to celebrate our survival before we go to sleep.”
He grinned, his eyes soft and excited. “You can count on it.”
Tawny slipped through the crowd, working her way to Matt’s cabin. She crept warily inside, peering around in the darkness. The cabin was small, with a bed in one corner and a table in another. Tawny shut the door behind her and timidly wriggled out of her clothes. It made her nervous to be completely naked when she wasn’t familiar with the cabin, but that feeling also aroused her tingling interests. Briefly, she wondered if she had the right cabin, and tried to assure herself that she knew she did — or at least, she was pretty sure.
The long minutes dragged on as Tawny padded around the cabin, nude. She toyed with ideas for sex, eyeing the rafters overhead and searching the cupboards for rope. For a while she lay on the bed, staring up at the roof, tickling and teasing herself as she thought about Matt. As her finger began to play with her own clit she forced herself to stop, concerned she might relieve the tensions before he came to relieve them for her.
She heard heavy footsteps on the porch outside and scurried to one of the little wooden chairs. Straddling it backwards, she faced the door, the back of the chair holding her trembling thighs wide apart, exposing her wet softness for Matt.
The door burst open and Tawny gasped in horror as a man leapt inside — not Matt, but Thomas.
She tried to scream, but the noise stuck in her throat as he lunged at her, knife in hand, across the room. Tawny scrambled to get away from him, tripping as she clambered out of the chair. Her heart sank with dread as she felt his strong hands grabbing her and pushing her, face-first, to the floor. She felt the cold blade touching the back of her neck, and she went quiet with terror.
“Make one sound and it’s all over,” Thomas snarled. “You have one chance at surviving this, little girl, so you’d best do as you’re told.”
Tawny nodded, frightened tears filling her eyes. She lay there limp and placid as he tied her hands securely behind her back and yanked her to her feet. He grumbled mean, acrid profanities as he dragged her to the door, his total disinterest in her nudity humiliating her as much as the nudity itself.
“Don’t make a sound,” Thomas warned as he pulled her from the cabin and led her into the nearby woods.
She gave muffled cries as her bare feet stumbled over sharp stones and rough branches. She could feel the bushes scratching her skin, but she was forced to hurry through as Thomas dragged her behind him. Her gut wrenched as she saw the Colt .44 wedged in his pants behind his back, nestled next to two grenades. She remembered the silver bullets.
“That boyfriend of yours is going to be sorry he ever met you,” Thomas growled.
A few long minutes later, the two of them stood atop of a small hill overlooking the council meeting below. Tawny glanced down the other side of the hill to see a short, rocky drop-off, with no chance for her to make an effective escape. Thomas lashed her hands to a young tree, leaving her naked body fully exposed. Her sore feet ached, and she could feel the sticky blood drying on her toes.
Thomas pulled her close and she yelped as the ropes tightened around her tender wrists. He held the knife at her throat, a frustrated but victorious grin on his face.
“What’s your bear friend’s name again, bitch?” he whispered.
Tawny hesitated, watching longingly as the council spoke among themselves, oblivious to Thomas. She saw Matt there, calmly discussing new plans and basking in the recent victory.
The blade pressed tighter against her skin, and she whimpered.
“Tell me his name.”
“Matt,” Tawny said, her throat dry and sore.
“Matt!” Thomas screamed down along the hill.
The council looked up, then most of them scattered to hide behind trees or cabin walls. Several moved out, working quickly and quietly to evacuate the area. But Matt stood, his eyes black with rage, and glared at Thomas.
“If you want her alive,” Thomas yelled, “you get your hairy ass up here and negotiate her release.”
Tawny watched through tears as Matt fidgeted, assessing the situation.
“You need to hurry — I’m getting impatient,” Thomas yelled down.
“If you hurt her,” Matt yelled in response, “I swear I will tear you into pieces too small to interest the rats!”
Thomas bellowed a dark laugh. “I could easily slit her throat, beast, and by the time you made it up the hill I’d be gone into these woods. Or, if you come up here, we can talk about my very reasonable demands. She could be free in less than ten minutes. No one needs to get hurt.”
“He has a gun!” Tawny
screamed desperately.
“Shut up!” Thomas hissed, shaking her violently.
“It’s a trick!” Tawny continued. “It has silver bullets!”
Thomas smacked her on the cheek, and her head went fuzzy for a second as she nearly passed out.
“Not another word,” Thomas warned. “I’m not playing games here.”
He turned to look back down the hill at Matt. “Are you coming up here to talk or not?”
“Either way, you plan to kill us both,” Matt replied, “but you expect me to make it easy on you?”
Thomas screamed in fury and grabbed Tawny by the ear. She whimpered, closing her eyes tight as she felt him press the knife blade against her earlobe.
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