The door almost begged for her to open it. Vic hesitated, and then stripped, fear bitter in her mouth.
“Here’s a rock, but I got to dig it out,” came one man’s voice from the ridge. “The bastard’s frozen into the dirt.” Thumping noises.
Her muzzle rose, and her top lip curled in a snarl she barely managed to suppress. Fury buzzed in a red cloud around her, tightening her muscles. Her first spring took her over ten feet upward, another and another, her paws silent in the snow.
Suddenly, she reached the top and scrambling over it.
“Holy shit!” A man on the trail jumped back, and she ignored him. The other stood over a small panther with a rock in his big fist. Vic screamed and launched herself across the distance. She hit him in the chest and knocked him over, landing on top of him. Her front claws ripped out his throat, cutting off his yell. A fountain of blood spurted up.
The remaining man tore down the path. Vic sprang after him, then halted, although everything in her wanted his flesh under her claws. With a growl of frustration, she paced back to guard the panther. Her little Jamie.
The sounds of the man’s flight diminished, then he yelled, “No, no!” Horrible snarling raised the fur on Vic’s spine, and the yelling changed to a scream and abruptly stopped.
Silence. She nuzzled the little cat, licked an ear.
A second later, two huge mountain lions appeared, side-by-side, running full out. Her anger was unabated, and the scent of blood heavy in the air. Vic snarled at them, showing her fangs. She felt her fur rise. Her front paw lifted, claws unsheathed.
Both cats snarled back, but they stopped.
Fuck, what was she doing? These were shifters, here for Jamie. Her brain couldn’t convince her body.
Suddenly, the lions blurred. Calum. Alec. The men rose to their feet.
“I do not know you,” Calum said, his voice so controlled, she could barely hear the underlying violence, but his pupils were completely black, and the air around him seemed to ripple. “That is my daughter who I love. I would care for her if you permit.”
With his husky voice, his careful words, her anger drained away. Her paw dropped, and she forced herself a few steps away from Jamie.
Calum ran forward and fell to his knees beside his daughter.
Feeling herself sway, Vic shook her head. This being a furry-thing was majorly bizarre. And how the hell was she supposed to shift into a people-thing again? Had any of those bozos mentioned the way to get back? God, would she stay stuck like this for… She spotted it, up in the corner of her mind.
She hurled herself through.
When she looked up, Alec was staring down at her, his green eyes almost glowing. “Vixen? You shifted?”
Beside Jamie, Calum raised his head. “Victoria. I caught your scent, but didn’t believe it.”
With an effort, Vic pushed to her feet. Her legs wobbled like half-melted Jell-O as she dropped down beside Calum. The little panther’s eyes were open, but glazed, and it was panting. “Oh, God, is she okay? They shot her-a tranq, I think.”
Calum ran his fingers through Jamie’s fur and yanked out a feathered dart. “Just one?”
“Yeah, their last. They were scared she’d wake up before they got her caged.” Vic couldn’t keep her hand from stroking the snow-dampened fur, needing to feel the warmth underneath and the comforting beat of the child’s heart. She was growling under her breath-as was Calum. She jerked her chin at the rock lying beside the dead man. “He planned to bash her-” She choked, couldn’t even say the words as the horror washed over her again. The absolute wrongness of the act.
Alec’s gaze touched on the bad guy, followed her leaping trail back to where it disappeared over the edge of the ridge. “You were below, weren’t you,” he stated. “That’s why you shifted?”
“Yeah. Too far away.” She shivered at how close she’d come to being too late, and then shivered again at the bite of snow and wind on her bare skin.
At the sound of voices coming up the trail, Vic rose, placing herself in front of Jamie. The door flickered in her vision, reminding her she had other options. Alec stepped beside her, his shoulder brushing hers.
But the people that appeared through the swirling snow weren’t more thugs. The grocery store owner, Baty, trotted in the front, carrying a pistol. Behind him, Kevin Murphy lugged a double-barrel shotgun, his brother, a deer rifle. After that came Kori and Angie, and they had,
Baty stepped over the dead man’s body as if it was a log on the trail and halted in front of Calum. “Cosantir, what do you require?”
Calum kept one hand on his daughter, unable to stop touching her, reassuring himself she was alive. Across from Jamie, Alec did the same. Bless the clan members who had arrived. He and his brawd could stay beside Jamie and still discharge their duties.
He glanced at the corpse behind him. The claw marks on the slashed throat were too obvious. The same on the man he and Alec had savaged and killed. Deaths from mountain lion attacks always made the news. The bodies must not be found. “Go through the wallets and get their information, then replace everything. Don’t leave fingerprints, just in case.”
Baty held up his gloved hand. “I’ll take care of that.” He knelt beside the dead body, calling to the women, “Kori, do you have a pen and paper?”
As Kori bustled forward, Angie spread a blanket over Calum’s shoulders, then did the same with Victoria and Alex.
Victoria wrapped herself in it, shivering so hard her teeth chattered. Calum put his free arm around her and pulled her against his warmth.
“Cosantir.” A man of few words, Kevin waited for orders.
Calum glanced at Alec. “Suggestions, cahir?”
“Cold water might preserve them too well. Best let the forest animals clean up the mess.”
Calum nodded, then said to the Murphy brothers, “Wrap them in plastic to prevent a blood trail. Drop them from the steepest cliff into Dead Mule Canyon.”
Cody gave a short nod. “I know the one you mean.”
Alec added, “Take as much of the bloody snow with the bodies as you can manage. No need to leave extra evidence behind.”
Kevin glanced at the gory mess around Victoria’s victim and grimaced. “Gee thanks, Alec.”
“Got your information,” Albert Baty said, returning to stand beside Calum. “What next?”
“Thank you, Albert. I think Victoria abandoned her clothing and probably a pack, down below.” Calum nodded at the tracks leading over the steep cliff.
Baty’s eyes widened. He bobbed his head at Victoria. “Nice job of climbing, missy. I’ll get your stuff for you, don’cha worry.”
She smiled her thanks.
“Thank you, Albert.” As the little shopkeeper bustled away, Calum bent over Jamie. Her eyes focused on him, and she was breathing normally. He stroked the fur on her neck. “Jamie. It would be best if you trawsfur. Do you remember how?”
