The Shifter's Catch

by T. S. Ryder

  Chapter Six

  Alexandru dragged the unconscious Bear woman from his car, throwing her over his shoulder as he approached the Bear camp. Fire blazed in his eyes. They would answer for this, sending an assassin to seduce him. His men, armed with silver weapons, followed after him. They moved like silent, deadly shadows.

  The Matriarch waited for him. She eyed the woman over his shoulder. He set the Bear down, not trying to be gentle but not rough, either.

  "Explain yourself," he rumbled.

  A smile curved the Matriarch's lips. "You've defeated our first hero. Ten miles of my land are yours."

  Alexandru stared. He felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket but ignored it. "This was one of your heroes? Tonight?"

  "We never said we wouldn't start tonight."

  Marcus's phone rang. Alexandru sent him a glower and the lieutenant fished in his pocket, looking embarrassed. He strode away and held the device to his ear. The Vampire General focused back on the huge Matriarch.

  "So is this what we can expect from Shifters?" he sneered. "Deceit and trickery? The woman tried to bed me!"

  "A test of where your brain is. Yours, it seems, is not between your legs."

  Marcus rejoined Alexandru. His eyes were wide and he touched the general's shoulder. "My Lord, I need to speak with you."

  "Not now," Alexandru snapped, but Marcus looked so grim that his heart jumped to his throat and he allowed his lieutenant to take him aside. The Matriarch snorted at him.

  "My Lord, your wife has been injured."

  Alexandru's heart stopped. Found. No. Not Found! "What happened?"

  "It seems she fell down a flight of stairs. She was found unconscious on the landing. Wava is watching over her and the healers think she will be fine, but she has not regained consciousness."

  Alexandru swayed on the spot. He clutched at Marcus to stay upright. No. This couldn't be happening. He thought of Found's bright eyes then saw them glazed, blood pooling beneath her. He had to get back. He had to get to her. He shoved Marcus to one side. His lieutenant kept a firm grip on him.

  "If you leave now everyone will think you a coward and you will lose her to one of your brothers. She is alive. She will remain alive, but you have to do what you came here for."

  The Vampire General closed his eyes. Marcus spoke the truth. He needed to finish what he started here if he wanted a chance to live peacefully with his wife. With effort, he forced himself to return to the Matriarch. Every muscle in his body was tense and ready to spring. He could not be bothered with all these politics, not when his Found was injured. He was meant to protect her! He had failed.

  He would not fail again.

  "Let's forget the lesser prizes," he snarled, ripping off his suit jacket. "Your lands for my lands. You and I fight now and decide it."

  The Matriarch's eyes glittered. Her teeth were white, sharp. Alexandru felt his own fangs extend in response and charged her.

  She shifted in the blink of an eye. A giant Bear, she was twice as tall as he was. She roared. When she crashed to the earth, the rocks under his feet shuddered. Alexandru pushed aside a bolt of fear and ducked, avoiding the swipe of a massive paw. He darted in under her belly, knuckles cracking against her thick hide. The Bear roared again, rearing back. A paw caught Alexandru's shoulder and he spun away, colliding painfully with a tree.

  The Bear charged. Alexandru seized a branch just above his head and pulled himself out of the way. The tree snapped like a twig as the Bear plowed into it.

  The force of the crashing tree threw Alexandru into the air. He rolled as he landed, not sparing any thought to possible injuries. The Bear charged again, the world shaking with her roars and Alexandru rolled as she leaped at him. Her teeth snapped where he had been seconds before.

  The vampire pushed off the ground, regaining his feet. As the Bear came at him, he slipped around her head and he felt the heat of her breath on his skin as he grappled at her neck. It was so thick he couldn't get his arms around it. His grip slipped.

  He was going to lose. He was going to die here and he would never see Found again.

  The moment of panic distracted him, allowing the Bear to shrug him off. His lungs seized as she slammed her paw into his chest, driving him into the ground. She growled, opening her mouth. Ropes of saliva hung between her teeth. Alexandru's hands shot out, grabbing the jaws. Her teeth cut into his palms and blood dripped onto his face.

  His heart pounded in his ears as the Bear's mouth inched closer, despite using all his strength to hold her away. The paw was still on his chest, making it difficult to breathe. Black spots danced before his vision and he knew that he wasn't going to last long.

  Found's face drifted before his eyes as pain cut into his hands and chest. The first moment he saw her, their wedding night, the first time he saw her smile, the way she asked him to stay with her when he left her at the Empress's palace.

  No. It's not ending like this.

  He had less than a second. Alexandru released the Bear's upper jaw, using his hand on the lower to yank her head downward and his free arm to knock away the paw pinning him to the ground. He threw himself forward. Her teeth grazed his chest, but his own met their mark. Hot blood spurted into his mouth as his fangs sunk into the Bear's nose.

  It had the desired effect. The Bear screamed, yanking back at the intrusion of her tender flesh, allowing Alexandru to slip out from under her. He sucked in a noisy breath and lunged, sending a fist to her eye. His arm vibrated with the force of the blow, his knuckles cracked, but the Bear withdrew once more.

  Alexandru pressed his advantage, landing blows to the Bear's wounded nose and eyes. She reared back. He ducked her clumsy paws and drove his shoulder into her gut. She stumbled backward and fell.

  He was dimly aware now that there was shouting from somewhere behind him but he ignored the noise, leaping over the Bear's fallen, writhing form. Even as she flipped onto her belly, he landed on her head. His thighs forced her jaws closed and his arms wrapped around her throat. He squeezed with all his strength, snarling, he heard her choke.

  The Bear stumbled to her feet, swinging her head from side to side in an effort to dislodge him. He held tighter, tearing at the thick fur on the back of her neck with his teeth.

  First one paw then the other tore at him. Pain exploded in white flashes before his eyes as her claws sliced through his clothes and flesh. He renewed his efforts, holding even tighter, spitting fur from his mouth as he yanked it from her neck.

  She bucked and rolled but her movements were becoming jerky. Even the paws slashing at him were more missing their mark then finding him. The Bear fell to her side as Alexandru's teeth met flesh. He tore open the back of her neck, letting the blood spurt into the air. She bucked once more and then went limp.

  Alexandru held on for another few seconds to make sure she wasn't going to attack him the minute he released her and then he stumbled to his feet. Spasms shook his muscles and his blood pooled around him. He threw his shoulders back and growled dominance as he stood over the Bear Matriarch. She moaned, twitching.

  Slowly her body shrank. Her blood flow increased as she took human form. Alexandru's head felt light and he swayed on the spot, but he straightened his spine and stood over her as he would a lesser vampire. The Bear pushed herself to her knees and dropped her head to her chest, exposing the gushing wound to him.

  "I cede."

  Alexandru spat out blood and fur as he hooked his hand under the Bear's arm. It took all his strength, but he brought her to her feet. Found filled his thoughts and he turned, stumbling towards the car. He won the battle, now he needed to get home to his wife.

  Marcus met him halfway, pressing blood bags into his hands. Alexandru tore into the first bag, drinking the blood greedily, while his own spilled over the ground. Everything swam as pain lanced from his injuries, but his vision steadied with the first bag. He gulped down the second with a little more grace and by the time he was finished with the third, his bleeding had stopped and
he realized he was leaning against Marcus for support.

  He straightened and headed once more for the car.

  "My Lord," the Bear Matriarch called after him. "My lands are yours, but we must discuss the finer points of this new arrangement."

  Alexandru paused. He glanced over his shoulder at the Bear. Her body was slick with blood, but like him, she seemed to have healed. How long would discussing the new acquisition of lands take? He couldn’t spare the time. He had to get back to Found. He needed to see that she was okay with his own eyes.

  "Keep your lands," he shouted, not thinking of anything but his wife.

  The Matriarch's eyes widened and several of his own men gasped, but Alexandru was already in the car. Marcus slid into the driver's seat and soon they were away.

  "My Lord," Marcus started.

  "Don't." Alexandru leaned back in the car seat, fighting the exhaustion that ran through him. He had just given up his dreams of become Emperor. Nobody would follow him after he gave up lands he had just won. But somehow that didn't seem to matter. Not now. Found was all that mattered. He needed her. His wife. His life.

  ***

  Her body was covered in bruises and her neck hurt fiercely, but Found could only muster up relief when she woke. Relief that Vlad hadn't killed her, she also felt relief that vampire embryos were so resilient. The healer assured her that her baby was fine despite the attack.

  Wava had been at her side since the moment she woke up. Her sister-in-law assured her that Alexandru was fine and was returning to the palace. To give her something to do until he arrived, Wava had taught her how to quilt a baby blanket. The tiny stitches necessary were impossible to do without poking her fingers, but Found didn't mind so much. It gave her a reason to force her hands to be steady.

  The door opened and her heart skipped a beat when Alexandru stepped in. He wore casual clothing, his hair damp and neatly brushed. The rush of relief she had at seeing him alive and well was quickly overcome by anger. He had showered before coming to see her?

  Wava had a hurried conversation with the Vampire General, then slipped out of the room. Alexandru sat in the chair his sister had been occupying and stared at Found. She turned her face away, determined that she was not going to be the one to speak first.

  "Did Wava get you this pattern?"

  Found glanced over the ornate vines ringing a rose on her baby blanket and nodded.

  "That's our family crest. It is specific to us."

  "That's what a family crest normally is."

  "I meant, it was the crest given to our mother." Alexandru reached to touch a golden leaf and Found pulled the cloth away. His hand froze mid-air. Silence swelled between them, then the vampire's hand dropped. "You're angry with me?"

  Found glared at him.

  Her husband's expression became incredulous. "You are angry with me. Why?"

  "Do you know how worried I've been?" Found clenched her fists, careful not to stab herself with the needle. "I saw that thing attack you hours ago and you didn't even call me to tell me you were alive."

  "You were unconscious."

  "You didn't know that! You didn't call. You didn't even send a text to let me know you were okay. I thought that you could be dead, Alexandru. I thought that thing might kill you and now you're here without a scratch, not caring about how worried I have been!"

  "I healed. I did get pretty beat up, but—"

  Found felt the blood drain from her face. For a wild moment she wanted to hit him, to strike out so that he would know what he put her through. He seemed to recognize that he wasn't being reassuring and cut himself off.

  His jaw clenched and he let out an angry snort. "Here I was, half-crazy with worry for you—"

  "And I made Wava let you know I was okay." To her horror, Found's eyes began to flood with tears. This could not be happening. She was not an emotional waif who cried at every drop of the hat. It had to be the pregnancy hormones messing with her body. "Why didn't you phone me? I'm your wife!"

  "You are my wife and I was doing what I had to do to protect you. Do you understand that?" His hand closed around her wrist. "You don't understand the vampire ways, it hasn't been long enough, but if I am going to be Emperor, I have to expand my territory. I have to constantly show the others that I am strong, or they will take everything from me. That includes you."

  Found's heart fluttered, but she didn't want to give up her anger that easily, no matter how intense Alexandru's big eyes were, no matter the urgency in his voice.

  "If I had challenged the Shifters and then delayed meeting their returning challenge, any number of my brothers would have come after you. I was protecting you!"

  "Protecting me," she repeated, then laughed. "Protecting me? If you were protecting me you would have been here, like you should have been. If you had, then Vlad wouldn't have attacked me!"

  Alexandru's face paled. He reeled back as though she had slapped him. "Vlad attacked you?"

  She didn't answer, but that was answer enough.

  Fury trickled into her husband's face. His hands clenched the bedclothes, tearing through the fine fabric and with a jerk, he was on his feet. A rage-fueled roar echoed around the room and he charged away without another word.

  Oh, God! Found threw back the blankets and ran after him, her nightdress twisting around her knees. What have I unleashed?

  He was going after Vlad. Right here, in the Empress's palace. He'd kill his brother and the Empress would kill him for shedding blood in her own home. Found's heart jumped to her throat, getting in the way as she tried to shout after Alexandru. Her muscles and joints protested but she pushed herself faster.

  Wava was at the end of the corridor and her eyes widened as Alexandru brushed past her.

  "Sandru," she called.

  "He attacked Found!" Alexandru's shout echoed through the corridor.

  "Wait," Found cried. "Alexandru, don't!"

  He didn't turn, didn't even slow down. Wava hurried over to her, but Found pushed her sister-in-law away, desperate.

  "What happened?" Wava asked, running to keep up with Found.

  "I told him Vlad attacked me," she cried, tears pooling in her eyes. Alexandru was going to die and it was all her fault. She hadn't told anybody about Vlad's attack on her for precisely this reason! What had she been thinking?

  Wava cursed softly. "Hurry. If we can catch him before he finds Vlad, we might have a chance to stop him."

  Found didn't want to think what would happen if they were unsuccessful.

  Chapter Seven

  A growl rumbled in Alexandru's chest, his dark eyes blazing as he hunted his prey. Vlad would pay for harming Found. He would rip off his half-brother's head and everybody would know that they would pay dearly for touching her. The growl turned to a snarl as Vlad's scent grew stronger. He heard both Found and Wava following, calling after him, but his pulsing blood was too hot to ignore.

  He burst into his brother's chambers. Vlad sat in a chair, a book in his hands. He leaped to his feet as Alexandru snarled, advancing slowly. The taste of blood, both the Bear Matriarch's and the human blood he had drunk to heal himself, was still in his mouth.

  "Hello, Brother," Vlad greeted. "You stink of Bear."

  Alexandru charged, roaring. Vlad sprang lightly out of the way, striking Alexandru's wrist with the heel of his hand. It pushed him off balance, but he regained himself quickly. His ribs ached and a stitch in his side told him he wasn't fully healed from his fight with the Bear.

  Vlad's eyes glinted and a smile twisted his lips. Alexandru's muscles roped and he charged again, hands outstretched. His brother slipped from between his finger and a solid blow landed on his ribs. The freshly healed bones cracked under the impact. Alexandru stumbled back, gasping for breath while the scrawny vampire laughed, dancing around his brother.

  "Sandru, stop," Wava cried from the doorway. She and Found both stood there, eyes wide. Wava held onto Found tightly while the younger woman fought to get herself free.

 
"He's not worth it," Found said. "Alexandru, please. If you kill him in the Empress's palace—"

  Vlad's laughter drowned her out. "Listen to her. She's so in love with you. Isn't it sweet?"

  Alexandru growled. His blood pulsed in his ears and he wanted to destroy Vlad more than anything–but where would that leave Found? Wava? His lands? His position?

  He gathered up all of the self-control that he possessed and turned his back on his half-brother, headed for the door.

  "You love her too, don't you?" Vlad shouted after him. "I did warn you about the dangers of falling in love… why I even heard that you didn't claim Shifter territory because you were so worried about her. Is this how you plan to defend her?"

  Alexandru froze.

  "If you protect your lands like you protect your wife, it's a wonder you have any. I could have drained her a hundred times over and you'd have never known who did it."

  Alexandru's blood surged. He lunged, his vision blurring in a field of red. Vlad's face was all he could see, Vlad's gasp of pain as his knuckles cracked into his chest was all he could hear. The younger vampire stumbled back, weakly fending off the blows. Alexandru seized him by the throat, sinking his fist into Vlad's stomach, pounding his chest.

  "You will never touch her again!" the Vampire General screamed, both his hands wrapping around Vlad's throat, choking him. "Never!"

  He heard a familiar voice behind him but ignored it, squeezing tighter. Vlad's face began turning blue and Alexandru hoisted him into the air, snarling.

  Hands grasped his shoulders, dragging him backward. Alexandru growled, shrugging them off. Fangs flashed in his peripheral and something pierced the back of his neck. He yowled, releasing Vlad to whirl on his attacker. Two vampires darted in, grabbing his arms and throwing him back against the wall.

  The Empress stood before him, her wide eyes narrowed in anger, a silver blade stained with blood in her hand. His blood.

  Alexandru went limp, allowing the two guards that held him to force him to his knees. The smell of his blood washed over him, clearing his mind. It trickled down his back, hot and potent.