Saving Autumn

by Marissa Farrar

  People began to look up at the sky and Autumn did the same, peering up through the windshield.

  A bird, a giant white snowy owl, blocked out the sky. The bird let out a screech and dived for the man with the stick, its sharp talons outstretched. It hit the man with a flurry of beating wings, screeches filling the air.

  Chaos erupted all around them. People jumped back in their cars and tried to reverse in the gridlocked traffic. The squeal of metal on metal joined the animals’ cries as people behind the wheels tried to get away, crumpling fenders as they did so. Those on the street either stood and gaped, or turned and ran, pushing and shoving those around them. A couple of young guys pushed a middle-aged woman. She fell to the ground, her arms covering her head as people ran like a herd around her, taking no notice if they stomped on her back, head, and neck.

  Blake opened the car door. Autumn grabbed his hand again and tried to yank him back. “What are you doing?”

  “I can’t let this continue.”

  “What are you going to do by yourself? Don’t get involved, Blake!”

  He shook his head. “I’m already involved.”

  Her heart lurched. She didn’t want to see him get hurt again. “You’re recovering from three gunshot wounds. Another injury could put you back in the hospital, and then what good would you be?”

  He turned on her, his dark eyes fierce, his upper lip curled in a snarl. He shook her off. “These are my people. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

  She sat back in her seat as if he had slapped her. There was aggression in his face, a hardness she’d not seen in him before.

  “Move over to the driver’s side, and as soon as the traffic moves, get out of here. Go to my apartment and I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.” With that, he slammed the door shut.

  She watched with her heart pounding as he stood in the busy street and began to remove his clothes. People who had been watching the fight, or were also caught in the traffic, cast confused glances at the big man who appeared to be stripping in public. The confusion turned to fear as Blake lowered his massive, naked shoulders, swirled in tribal tattoos, and his skin began to ripple.

  Oh, Blake. I hope you know what you’re doing …

  He was giving up his anonymity. People would have no doubt when it came to knowing exactly what he was.

  Before them, the crowd of protestors had begun to overpower the lioness, lifting their make-shift weapons to beat down upon the shifter. Autumn caught sight of the occasional paw swipe upward, the flash of white teeth as she tried to lash out at the people. From above, the owl continued its attack, lifting one of the smaller protestors—a skinny male in his early twenties—by the arm and managing to hoist him into the air a couple of yards before dropping him back down again. The man hit one of his comrades and they both collapsed to the ground.

  Tearing her eyes away from the horrific scene, she focused her attention to Blake. Silver and black fur had begun to spring from his chestnut skin, the shape of his shoulders changed, his neck elongated. Ears unfolded from the top of his head, his human hair vanishing in a pelt of fur. His face was no longer recognizable as a man’s, his jaw lengthened into a muzzle. The hard bottom she’d been digging her nails into only hours earlier had completely vanished, replaced by the hind legs and long tail of a wolf.

  His change was complete.

  Blake twisted his neck toward her to regard her with his deep, amber eyes. Her breath caught. There was warning in those beautiful eyes, something she instinctively read as ‘stay where you are.’ But there was also danger, and the aggression she’d recognized in his human eyes.

  Would this fight—and she didn’t mean the one happening in front of them now, but the conflict Chogan had created between humans and shifters—change him? He’d spent most of his adult life in a military situation, and now that Dumas was dead, Blake found himself without a job. His role in life had been taken from him. Plus, back at the government building, he’d been forced to keep his true identity a secret and allowed Dumas to harm other shifters. Perhaps now he’d finally decided he’d had enough. If he had to choose between humans and shifters, he’d choose the shifters every time.

  The question was, where did that leave her?

  BLAKE SHOOK HIS fur and bounded toward the action. Though the lioness was big, in wolf form, he dwarfed her. Several of the protestors saw him coming, their eyes widening in horror before they turned and ran. Those caught up in the bloodlust were too intent on hurting the female lion, and it wasn’t until he was upon them that they even noticed his presence. The iron tang of blood filled his nostrils, the scent of the human’s violence like a bitter flood down the back of his throat. In the distance, his sharp ears picked up the wail of sirens heading toward them. He was surprised the cops had taken this long to get here.

  His teeth closed around the arm of the man who had initiated the violence, snapping him around so the man spun away and fell to the ground. Though he wanted to, Blake refused to kill any of these people. All he wanted was to get the lioness shifter away from danger. Using his brute strength, he pushed the other men and women away, snarling at them, snapping, causing more noise and threats than anything else.

  Pain crashed through his hind quarters as someone brought the flat side of their placard down upon his lower back. He spun around snarling, and brought his paw down on the protestors sign, pinning it to the ground. The man holding the other end tried to tug it away, once, twice, his eyes wide and locked with Blake’s. Blake lifted his upper lip, revealing his huge canines. The man dropped the end of the post and took a couple of staggered steps backward, turned and ran.

  The approaching sirens grew louder. The protesters dispersed, leaving the lioness bloodied on the road. She lifted her head and mewled in pain. Anger burst through him. What had she done to deserve this?

  Unable to get the police cars through the gridlocked traffic, they’d had to pull up at the end of the street. He heard the combination of heavily booted feet smacking against the sidewalk, together with shouts to “Get back.”

  He had to get the shifter out of there.

  The owl took off into the air—an easy escape. People shaded their eyes to watch the bird go. Blake locked his jaws around the back of the lion’s neck, catching the scruff in his teeth and, hoping he wasn’t hurting her any more than he had to, dragged her away from the main street.

  The crowds had fled at the sight of the huge wolf dragging the injured lion. No one made any attempt to follow them as he dragged the big cat into an alley and deposited her behind the side of some large dumpsters, big enough to hide most of their bodies from the view of anyone who might have passed by on the main street.

  Her body shuddered, the fur rippling in a wave, dissolving into the skin as it did so.

  She might know something about Chogan. He wanted to question her, if she was in any state to answer his questions, but he couldn’t do so in wolf form.

  Following the woman’s lead, Blake concentrated and willed the wolf’s spirit from his body. He felt the disconnection like a change in pressure, lightening somehow. His consciousness split in two as once again he was aware of both his own senses and those of his spirit guide. Agonizing pain ripped through his body and he struggled to hold in the yell of anguish threatening to burst from his lungs, not wanting to attract any attention to their hiding place. His body changed shape, his hind legs becoming human once more so he was crouched on the ground. His muzzle shrank and flattened, his teeth rounding. Front paws elongated to fingers, thick fur vanished to reveal skin.

  Blake rose to standing.

  The woman beside him had also shifted back, and now crouched on the ground, her arms wrapped around her body to hide her nakedness. She was in her mid-thirties, with honey-colored curls and green eyes. But though she was both pretty and naked, that wasn’t what caught his attention. Her creamy skin was mottled in bruises, already turning a rainbow shade of blues, greens, and purples. The worst were on her lower back and spreadin
g around to her hips. The sight made him wince. At least, being a shifter, she would heal in less than a day, though she was going to find it difficult to lie down comfortably anytime soon.

  Wanting to offer her some modesty, he grabbed an empty black trash bag that had been stuffed behind the dumpster.

  “Sorry,” he said as he handed it to her. “Not exactly Dolce and Gabbana.”

  She took it from him with a shy, but grateful smile. “Thanks.” Her gaze flicked up and down his naked body, her cheeks turning pink, before she averted her eyes to stare at the ground.

  Blake was grateful for his shifter body heat. If he didn’t burn hotter than a regular human, he’d be freezing right now. He glanced up at the block of apartments directly at his back. A metal fire staircase ran down the back of the brick building. Someone, probably breaking every fire safety rule in the city, had run a washing line from their window and over to the edge of the fire escape.

  “Wait here one minute,” he told the woman.

  Painfully aware of his nudity, he ran up the couple of flights and grabbed the clothes off the line. Thankfully, for the woman, a sweater dress had been hung out to dry. The luck didn’t continue on his side, as the only male clothing appeared to come from an adolescent. He wasn’t in a position to be fussy, and pulled on the t-shirt that was far too small for him and a pair of equally small pants.

  He jumped back down the fire escape and handed her the dress. “A step up on the plastic bag.”

  She laughed. “Yes, it is.” She quickly pulled the item over her head, covering her body. “Thanks again,” she said, and gestured at the clothing. “Not just for this, but for helping me back there.”

  “I had to do something.”

  She tried to get up and winced in pain, her hand clasping her lower back. Blake darted forward and offered his hand, helping her to her feet.

  She squinted at him. “I know you from somewhere, don’t I?”

  “Possibly. You might have seen my face on the news.”

  Something in her eyes lightened. “I remember! You were involved in all that stuff that went on in the government building downtown.”

  He didn’t confirm or deny her observation. “I helped you, now I need you to help me. I’m looking for someone, my cousin Chogan Pallaton.”

  “Chogan? Looks a bit like you? Long dark hair?”

  Blake nodded. “That’s the guy.”

  “Yeah, I know him. He called the shifter meeting last night, but we were attacked. I wasn’t really behind his ideas, but then those people burst in and started shooting. And then when I saw this stupid protest, I was just so mad, I couldn’t stop myself. It was like my spirit guide forced me to shift. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”

  “Did Chogan say he would be in touch? That he would call another meeting?”

  She shook her head. “No. He took our numbers, but didn’t say when or if he’d call another meeting.”

  Blake frowned. “Was there anything else? It’s really important that I find him.”

  She thought for a moment. “Actually, yes, there was. A woman showed up, a human woman. He seemed surprised to see her.”

  A human woman? Instantly, Blake’s thoughts went to Autumn, but it couldn’t have been her. They were together all night. A pang of guilt jarred through him as he remembered how he’d left her in the car in the middle of all that madness. He hoped she was safe. He wanted to send his wolf to investigate, but he needed to concentrate on what the lion-shifter was telling him.

  “What did she look like?” he asked.

  She screwed up her face as she cast her memory back. “A bit like Chogan.” Then she lifted her gaze to his face. “Actually, more like you.”

  Tala!

  How had his sister gotten involved in all of this?

  Chapter Seven

  WHEN IT BECAME clear that Autumn and Blake weren’t going to show up, Mia and Peter made their excuses to leave. The flat had grown too small, and the time they spent waiting, only for the others not to show, had made everyone awkward. Toby kept letting out over-exaggerated sighs of frustration. Peter was pacing. Dana tried to fill the time by offering too many cups of coffee and trying to force sandwiches on them all.

  Mia hit the button to dial Autumn’s number once again. The number was new, her old phone having been lost or broken some time during the last week.

  Come on girl. Pick up, pick up, pick up, she willed. Considering the things she’d learned over the course of that afternoon, she was starting to get worried. The call had rung out every time she’d tried over the past hour or so, when it became clear they weren’t going to turn up.

  “Hello?”

  Autumn’s voice on the other end of the line made Mia jump. She realized she’d not been expecting her friend to answer.

  “Hey, it’s me. We’re wondering where you guys are.” She heard her friend sniff and her heart sank. “What’s the matter?”

  “He’s gone.”

  “What? Who’s gone?”

  “Blake. We got stuck in the middle of a protest and there was a huge fight and Blake got involved. He was helping someone who got hurt, but he left me there.”

  She experienced a surge of anger. “He left you in the middle of a protest?”

  Peter was staring at her, his eyebrows raised to ask her what was happening. She waved a hand briefly to give her a minute to speak to Autumn. Her friend sounded upset, her voice tight as if she were trying to hide how she felt.

  “It wasn’t his fault. If he hadn’t gotten involved, someone might have been killed.”

  “Yes, you might have been! He should have stayed to look after you.”

  “I’m a big girl, Mia. I can take care of myself.”

  Mia pressed her lips together to prevent herself from ranting. Blake’s colleague and best friend stood beside her, and besides, she didn’t know the whole story. Perhaps Autumn had been well away from any kind of danger. Given what she now knew, she wondered if Autumn would ever truly be out of danger.

  “Where are you now?” she asked, clamping down on her anger.

  “I’m at Blake’s place.”

  “Where does he live? Do you need me to come and meet you?”

  “No.” She could hear Autumn shaking her head against the phone. “I’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll show up here soon.”

  Mia didn’t like the idea of her being alone with trouble going on in the city. Plus, there was a good chance she was being followed by the same people who had abducted and tortured Toby. She wanted to tell her friend to call the police, to tell them she was in trouble, but she couldn’t even tell her that much on the phone. Peter had warned her that their phones might be bugged, people listening in on their conversations.

  “Okay, honey,” she relented. “But you call me if you need me, okay?”

  “Will do.”

  Mia hung up.

  Peter was still looking at her expectantly.

  She sighed. “They’re not coming. They got caught up in some trouble in town.”

  “Damn.” Peter bit his lower lip with his straight white teeth. Something in Mia’s chest tightened. “Can we go to them? Blake really needs to know what Toby’s discovered, but I daren’t talk about it over the phone. God only knows who is listening in.”

  “He’s not there. It sounds like Blake is tied up with something else. Autumn doesn’t know when he’ll be back.” She didn’t want to say too much with Toby and his parents listening in.

  “Okay, but I’m not going to drive you to your apartment if Autumn isn’t there. I can take you back to your parents?” Mia wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Well, I’m not going to leave you alone in this city, knowing what we do now. We can go back to your place, together, or you’re welcome to come back to mine.”

  She felt a surge of pleasure at the thought of getting to see where he lived. Considering the expensive car parked at the sidewalk outside, she had a feeling she would be equally impressed by his home, though she wanted to tell her
self she wasn’t the sort of person who cared about such materialistic things.

  She gave a shrug, trying to appear nonchalant, when she was excited about the possibility of being alone with him for any length of time. “Your place sounds fine.”

  They turned their attention back to Toby.

  Peter reached down to the boy’s desk and scribbled something on a piece of scrap paper. “These are my cell and home phone numbers. If anything changes—if you feel threatened—call me right away and say you need to talk about the dog or something.”

  Toby smirked. “The dog?”

  “Anything like that. Just don’t mention the real reason you need to see me.”

  “Okay.”

  “And stay off the DoD intranet. You’re going to get caught eventually.”

  “Yes, sir,” the boy said, accompanied by a roll of his eyes.

  The adults left the room, leaving Toby still sitting at his computer. Peter led the way, heading down the narrow hallway and past the living room and kitchen. They paused beside the front door.

  Dana chewed her lower lip. “Do we need to be worried?”

  Peter shook his head. “Not as long as Toby stays off the government intranet and keeps quiet about what he is. I know others are calling for shifters to stand up and reveal what they are, but as long as Toby keeps his head down, he should be fine.”

  “We won’t even let him leave the apartment,” said his father.

  The parents exchanged a glance, one that read, ‘Well, we can try.’

  Mia and Peter headed back to ground level and climbed into Peter’s waiting car, which, thankfully, hadn’t been towed. Mia hugged herself with happiness at being in the presence of this incredible man. She caught herself staring at the flecks of white at the temples of his dark hair, his strong profile with its straight nose and full mouth. She’d never imagined someone as successful as him would pay any attention to someone like her. He was a man, not a boy.

  She enjoyed being alone with him again, encased together within the metal shell of the vehicle. The faint hint of his aftershave, something musky and masculine, fed her senses. She thought of the confrontation they’d had in the government building after he’d gotten them out of the small room where they’d been held. He’d been in the form of a mountain lion then, but when he’d shifted back, he’d risen to standing completely naked. Her mind danced deliciously on the memory of his long, lean back, his curved, hard buttocks.