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“Give me the child.”
The feline recognized the words. She snarled. The baby cried. The sharp pain in her belly came instantaneously after the boom of the weapon. Her back hit the wall and her hold on the newborn tightened. She used the wall for support because her strength was leaving her fast. The feline wasn’t at peak power because of the human drugs. A wound didn’t help the situation.
The cub still cried. The panther saw her enemy panic when the roars and growls came from inside the house. Humans screamed. Weapons boomed. And the growling came closer.
The enemy looked at her slumped body, still holding the child. The rumbling in her chest warned him to stay away or die. Her fangs and claws were her only weapons, but a perfectly placed slash to his throat, or leg, could kill him fast.
“God dammit!”
The cat saw him turn and run, firing at someone. Then, a huge tiger leaped into the room. The call of battle he released shook the windows. He was Alpha, and he let everyone know he was there to avenge his mate.
The panther hissed, then the scent of earth after a summer rain reached her. Clean and powerful, it infused her senses, making her purr. She knew that scent. She recognized it from another life; a happier life. The tiger sniffed and moved closer to her. The male’s purr mirrored hers. He came to her, slowly.
Her mate.
The baby cried. Her mate took a step back and, in an instant, the human part of him kneeled in front of her. The panther took in the man’s face. It was as appealing as the form of the tiger. She allowed the human side of her to come forward.
“Sheila? What is...?”
“Our baby,” she sighed. Then a sob broke free. The movement caused her belly wound to gush more blood. Sheila gasped.
“Baby? What’s wrong?” Logan’s hand lifted, cupping her face. Then he pulled back the sheet covering their child and hiding her wound. She saw the blood drain from his face and understanding fill his eyes. The blue turned to stone.
“No. You’re not dying.”
The words were a broken whisper. Tears filled his icy-blue eyes, falling down his pale face.
“Yes, I am.”
“No. You. Are. Not. You need a healer.”
Every word he spoke was a declaration.
Letting out a sigh of resignation, Sheila gave him another bad news. “Cain killed most of the pack. I’ll be dead before I can reach any healer.”
“Damn it!”
She felt him push energy through their fragmented bond. It dissipated before it could reach her. The wild panther inside her didn’t reach for it. She knew it was in vain. The wounds she had sustained over the months couldn’t be fixed only by the will of an Alpha. Logan growled, fighting to feed her his energy. When he failed a third time, she caressed his tired face.
“Why isn’t it working? Gods! I don’t want to lose you. Not again.”
His admission mirrored hers and broke her heart. “I know.” She pushed her free hand through his hair, pulling him in for a long kiss. Words didn’t matter. Their love flowed between them.
Sheila hurt everywhere. She’d concentrated all her energy on protecting her baby, and now she had nothing left. The hand she had in her mate’s hair fell to her lap. Logan reached for their baby, stroking the dirty, fuzzy, black hair.
“She has my hair color. Elena - my shining light.” Sheila chuckled, then groaned when the bullet wound made itself known with a sharp jab to her internal organs. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Logan smiled as he watched their baby squirm.
“Elena. Our princess.”
Sheila touched his hand, smearing it with her blood. “Take care of her, Logan.” The amusement was gone from her face. “Cain wants her. He gave me injections during the pregnancy. I don’t know what it will do to her.”
“You will live, baby. She needs a mother and I need my mate.”
Sheila felt his desperation. It broke what was left of her heart. “I know, but I can’t fight any longer, Logan. He drained me of strength. I am too weak to fight. I waited for you...”
“Baby, I’m sorry.”
Logan’s shoulders shook with his sobs. He kissed her hard. Sheila responded eagerly. It was a last kiss, and she wanted it.
A blaring siren broke the moment. Sheila smelled the gas being released into the house. Logan scented it, too.
“Bomb,” they whispered at the same time.
“Come on, let’s go girls.”
Logan tried to lift her in his arms. Sheila gasped and her bleeding increased. The baby started wailing again. She pushed away from him.
“No, take her. You can run faster with her.”
“I’m not fucking leaving you!”
Crying, and desperate to save the two most precious things in the world, she placed the baby in his arms. “Save her, Logan. Please. Save our baby.”
He shook his head. “You’re coming with us.”
The scent of gas increased. Panic rose in Sheila’s chest. The house was about to blow. She pushed him away. “No. I’ll be dead weight. Go!” The scream made the baby cry. “Keep Elena safe, Logan. Go!”
Tears falling down his chest, her mate cradled their girl to him.
“I love you, Sheila. Forever.”
“I love you, Logan. Forever.”
Logan ran out of the room. Sheila collapsed to the side, sobbing. The pain in her soul overshadowed the one in her body. But her mate and child will be safe. They will live and that was enough for her.
Her vision blurred, and her hearing faded. She didn’t feel cold anymore. The pain dissipated and death came in the shape of an eight-year-old boy.
Whispering her last I love you, Sheila’s strength left her and her soul drifted into the Ether.
*
“Mama, she’s the one that saved me!” Cole saw Sheila, his friend, slumped to the side, bleeding badly. He could sense she was nearly dead.
“Cole, we need to leave. The house will explode!”
His mom tugged on his hand, but he broke free and rushed to his crime partner. She had kept Cain from killing him. Had suffered, so he didn’t have to. She was kind and funny. They had spent many hours talking while they were prisoners. Now it was his turn to save her. Cole grabbed his mother’s hands and begged.
“Please mama, save her! She saved me. She kept me safe. Please!”
“Baby, there isn’t time-”
“Please!”
With a long sigh, his mother kneeled. She inspected Sheila’s body. The wound in her belly bled. His mother placed both hands over the wound, closing her eyes. The healing power buzzed in the air. Seconds later, Sheila groaned and her eyes cracked open. Cole saw the pink infusing the white of her eyes. Feral.
His mother lifted her hands and swayed. Cole steadied her. He looked at Sheila’s wound. It hadn’t completely healed, but it wasn’t bleeding so hard anymore.
“I healed the internal damage. It’s the best I can do for now. I need energy to get us out of here.”
Dragging Sheila’s body up from the floor, they supported her while they half-walked, half-dragged her through the corridors, to the back door and out of the house. The scent of blood drifted in the wind. Sheila stumbled on her feet. They just entered the woods when the house exploded. The shock of the explosion threw them forward.
Cole’s ears rang, but he could swear he heard a tiger’s roar echo through the forest. Crawling, he checked on his mother.
“I’m fine, baby. How’s your friend?”
Cole pushed Sheila on her back. She was still alive.
“Here, let me give her some energy. We need her to walk.”
He watched his friend came to her senses enough to understand what had happened.
“Cole.”
Her familiar, broken voice made him smile. “Hey, Sisi. You’ll be okay.” She grabbed his hand, squeezing. Pink tainted green eyes.
“Don’t tell anyone I’m alive.”
Cole frowned. “Sisi, but... your mate and baby...”
“No one, Cole. Promise.”
He nodded. “Fine. I promise. Mom promises too. Right, mom?” He looked at his mother, trusting that Sheila knew what she was doing. Sheila was smart. His mother nodded.
“I promise, Cole. Sisi can stay hidden for now.”
A rustling of leaves made them look up in fright. A petite woman stood halfway hidden by a tree trunk. She was dressed for hiking but her eyes, her pink tinted eyes, latched on to Sheila’s.
“Sparrow?”
“Alpha.”
The young woman lowered her eyes in submission. Sheila reached for her. “Come here.”
Cole watched the other woman with mistrust. She was feral. Her eyes gave her away. But she was listening to Sisi. She called Sisi, Alpha. His mother shifted uncomfortably. The newcomer kneeled next to Sisi. They hugged, cried, then separated. He looked down at his friend. She was weak and tired. Then he looked up at his mother.
“What do we do now, mama?” She stroked his dirty hair.
“Now, we go into the world and hide the best we can, baby. We can’t trust another pack in this area. If Cain finds us, he’ll either kill us or experiment on us.”
“And we take Sisi with us?”
“If she wants to. Her friend is-”
“Harmless. She’s mine; my pride-mate. I’m her Alpha.”
Cole gripped Sheila’s hand. “Come with us, Sisi. You can be my big sister.” She gave him a weak smile.
“Big sister Sisi. I like the sound of that. How about you, Sparrow? Do you want a younger brother and an older sister?”
“Sure.”
She drew out the word. The fresh addition to their pack didn’t please Cole, but Sisi trusted her.
“So, Sparrow, tell us, how and why did you come here?” He wanted to know everything.
“After five months, I finally felt my Alpha, so I snuck out while...”