Blood had turned his pant leg dark red, and he was so mad, his face was scary-ugly.
They were so close. She staggered forward. Too slow. No choice, I have no choice. Have to go faster. She closed her eyes, forced herself to open the door. Tingling. Trawsfur. Dizzy. She shook her head, tripping on her feet. Paws.
"Jesus, we have her! Shoot, dammit!"
Something stung her shoulder like a wasp, and she snarled, the sound horrible. She sprang forward up the trail. Almost to the top. She could… The trees spun in a circle around her. Her legs—too many legs—tangled, and she crashed into the ground. She tried to stand, scrambling uselessly with her paws, but her head felt like a boulder.
With blurry eyes, she saw a pair of boots walk up to her. When the man kicked her hard, she could only snarl helplessly.
Daddy—I want my Daddy…
*
They shot Jamie! Climbing frantically, Vic was only halfway back up the steep slope. She stopped to listen, cursing silently. The trail that Jamie was on curved out of sight. Thank God the two men following Jamie hadn‘t gotten close enough to the cliff‘s edge to spot her, but they‘d surely hear her scrambling up to them.
Vic slowed, moving more quietly, every muscle screaming to hurry. Okay, okay. Jamie"s down, but she isn"t dead. There"s time. She pushed up to the next step. Her foot slipped. What a cluster-fuck. Stay the fuck calm, Sergeant.
Where the hell were all those shifter townspeople? What were they thinking, leaving Jamie alone? Where the hell was the kid‘s backup?
As the wind died for a moment, she heard them.
"Swane said, on these beasts, the tranq wears off in ten minutes or so. Way before we can get it down and into the cage."
"Then shoot her again when she wakes up, dumbass. Fuck, she‘s heavy."
"That was the last dart, dirtbag. You got rope?"
"Hell no."
"Jesus. The guy wants it alive."
"Fuck that, I‘m not going to let that hellcat claw me again. Bash its head in. The daddy don‘t need to know that his kid‘s dead—he‘ll still do fuck-all to get her back."
Silence. "Yeah, that‘ll work. I‘ll find a fuckin‘ rock." Footsteps. "You s‘pose they change to people when they die?"
Vic looked up at the distance remaining to the top. It was too far. Too steep. I can"t make it in time. She closed her eyes in despair.
And there, in the back of her mind, the little door glowed.
*
The patrol car bounced as Alec drove it up and over the curb, across the snow-covered park, following the new boot marks in the snow that led directly into the forest. He braked to a skidding stop at the tree line and jumped out. As he ripped his clothes off, he heard a heavy engine start up—and a black van raced away down the street.
He hesitated. One would escape. But he could smell more here. And Jamie. Fear. Ahead in the mountains.
Calum‘s car roared up behind him as Alec shifted. He didn‘t wait. Fresh blood made garish red marks on the white snow. With a low growl, he sprang forward.
Not a minute later, Calum shouldered past him. As they tore up the trail, from the mountain above them came the high shriek of a female cougar.
*
The door almost begged for her to open it. Vic hesitated, and then stripped, fear bitter in her mouth. If this doesn"t work… In her mind, she pulled the door open and mentally stepped into the blinding glow.
Fuuuuck! She dropped forward onto her hands and knees...onto her paws. Those were her golden-furred paws. She shook her head, unsettled by how close her face was to the ground. The brightness of the world blinded her, the noises sounded too loud, and everything smelled. Too much.
"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. Jamie?
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. My cub. Mine to protect. Nothing will hurt my Jamie.
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.
