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“I think so.” Callum turned to Sophie. Her wide eyes held fear and her hand had gotten clammy in his. A feeling of dread washed over him as he recalled their conversation in the cell. “Sophie, how old were you when the hunters took you?” Dear God, how long had she been a prisoner? He hoped it wasn’t as long as he feared.
She cleared her throat. “Ten.”
His heart fell at her omission. She’d been a prisoner there for longer than a decade. Worse, they’d deprived her of the right to shift, to explore the other half of who she was.
“Wait! You’ve been their prisoner since you were ten?” Terrence asked with a frown.
Sophie nodded.
“She’s never shifted before,” Callum said as he scrubbed his free hand over his face. Shifters went through their first change at puberty. At ten he doubted she’d experienced that yet. Shifting was natural and instinctual, but she’d been given drugs for years to keep her from doing it. Not only was it going to be difficult, but also it’d probably hurt like hell and take a while to complete.
“I...I...tell me what to do,” she said as she squeezed his hand tighter. “I can do it. I’m not going back.”
He smiled despite their situation. Years in captivity hadn’t dampened her spirit. “It’s going to hurt like hell,” he said. “The faster you do it, the better.”
Sophie inhaled and let it out. “Okay.”
Terrence jogged down and peered through the trees. “Crap. It's hunters who are coming. Not to rush you, but we do need to hurry.”
Callum got down on his knees and tugged Sophie down with him. “Put your hands on the ground. Did you ever see your family shift?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Picture what they looked like, and imagine yourself looking like that too. You’ll feel your muscles begin to pinch. Don’t fight it. Let the change happen.” He let go of her hand so she could put it on the ground. “Close your eyes.”
She did as he asked.
“They’re coming,” Terrence said as he appeared back by their sides.
“We’ll keep them off her until she’s done,” Callum said, taking one last look at Sophie. A fine sheen of sweat beaded on her brow. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her body trembled with exertion. “We’ll be right here,” he said, even though he had no idea if she could hear him or not.
Callum focused on his own shift, grunting as the bones were slow to snap. What should have taken mere seconds was being dragged out over what seemed like minutes. He grunted as the change continued. His limbs stretched slowly as his body reformed. The process was slower and more painful than normal, thanks to the drugs they’d been given to keep them from shifting.
He blew out a breath and envisioned his bear. Hair sprouted over his body as it grew in size. He growled low in his throat and he blinked his eyes open, fully changed.
Terrence was finishing his shift, too. The black leopard blinked at him then leapt to take position, hiding himself within the trees. Callum lumbered in front of Sophie.
The cat was in the wide open. She’d managed to transition partially so far. The bones had broken and begun to lengthen, shredding the white cloth of her jumpsuit. Her body shook, her breathing labored. It was anyone’s guess when she’d complete the transformation. He just hoped that it was soon for all of their sakes.
Until she finished, he needed to protect her. He focused on his surroundings, peering through the foliage as best he could. The thick pine needles made it difficult to see, but given the time of year, he was grateful to have any cover at all.
A blur of blue caught his eye. It was an ATV. The vehicle hurried past them and pulled up next to where the truck had gone over the ravine.
Men talked to each other, but he couldn’t quite understand what they were saying. He inhaled and suppressed the urge to growl. Hunters.
How did they find us so quickly?
Sophie groaned, drawing his attention away from their enemy. Her shift was nearly complete. He watched as she fell on the ground, panting. The pretty woman was gone. Before him stood a breathtaking white tiger.
She blinked and shook her head as she pushed up to her feet. Her wide blue eyes met his.
The trees rustled and Callum whipped around, letting out a breath when he saw it was only Terrence. He eyed the hunters as they walked around the edge. There were six by his count. They could take them, but he’d rather escape while they could. Who knew how many more there were in the area, and there was also the problem of humans.
Terrence indicated the trees behind them. Callum nodded; glad they both agreed running was their best course of action.
The black leopard slunk down, slowly moving into the trees. Callum glanced to Sophie, glad when she followed the other cat’s lead. As a bear, his movements weren’t as graceful as theirs were, but he’d learned a long time ago how to keep quiet. They travelled for several minutes before they broke off into a steady sprint.
He was slower than the two cats, but years of training allowed him to mostly keep up. There was a break in the trees ahead. The ground looked flat from what he could see. He didn’t like the idea of being in the open, but there didn’t appear to be a way around.
They darted into the clearing and Callum grunted as a steady whirling sound moved overhead. He chanced a peek up. It was a helicopter with a man hanging out over the edge and a camera in his hand. Perfect!
The odd trio running together was going to draw attention. Most likely the wrong kind – hunters.
A few seconds later, they burrowed back into the trees. They needed to find a place to go. The thought had barely left his mind when the roar of an engine zoomed toward them.
It had to be the quads, which meant the hunters were on their way. He pushed himself to run faster, somehow finding the strength to keep pace with the tiger and leopard.
They were moving so fast that by the time they saw the cliff’s edge it was almost too late. The three of them tumbled, desperately trying to stop in time.
Callum dug his paws into the ground and fell on his rump. His speed caused him to roll, carrying him further forward. He twisted and turned as his body slowed, stopping just inches before the edge.
Sophie panted a few feet away from him. Terrence had regained his composure, standing with his ears twitching as he listened.
The cat must have already realized their predicament. There was nowhere for them to go but back the way they had come. With the hunters approaching, they would have to fight their way through first.
Callum grumbled as he got to his feet. He nudged Sophie with his nose. They needed the cover of the trees. The tigress followed him into the foliage. He ducked down, placing himself as best he could on the ground and out of sight. At nearly 1200 pounds in this form, that wasn’t easy.
Sophie followed his lead and slithered onto the ground, making herself much less visible. Terrence somehow had taken to the trees. He moved through the branches, ready to pounce on whoever came through the trees first.
The ATV’s engines rumbled as they drew closer. Sophie shuffled in the foliage beside him, flexing her large claws. The engines’ roars died. A calm quiet spread through the trees. Even if they couldn’t hear the hunters, he didn’t doubt that they were making their way toward them.
Sophie glanced at him, her blue eyes wide. She trembled. Callum put his large paw over one of hers in an effort to reassure her. He hated that the young tiger had suffered as much as she had, and he was going to make sure that she didn’t ever get hurt by the hunters again. If it was still the six hunters, they stood a good chance. He nodded at her, then snapped his attention to the trees.
Twigs snapped as their enemy drew closer. A pair of legs walked in front of him, followed by another. Callum roared as he lunged forward, using his strength to take both hunters down. His paws landed on each of their chests as he smashed them into the ground. Their bones crunched beneath his weight. The men sputtered. Blood flooded their mouths as they both fought to draw in a breath.
Sophie leapt past him, rearing up on her back legs and landing on another hunter before they could shoot him with a tranquilizer.
The three remaining hunters shouted. Terrence sprung from his perch in the trees, tackling another hunter to the ground. Sophie took off after the remaining two, cornering them on the cliff. Callum followed after her. She seemed to be holding her own, but he imagined this was her first fight and he wanted to be there to back her up if needed. Sophie took one of the men on the right and he took the other, lunging at them before they could fire any shots.
Terrence trotted toward them, and Callum couldn’t help but think that had almost been too easy. He’d spoken too soon. A whirling sound came from the edge of the cliff a few seconds before a helicopter appeared. This wasn’t the same one as before. It bore no marks from a newsroom... and its occupants had guns, which they were training straight at Sophie.
She was the closest to the edge, and she cowered backward. The men raised their guns. No, they weren’t weapons. They were tranquillizer guns.
A loud pop sounded and an orange dart hit Sophie in her flank. Terrence yowled, sprinting forward; he jumped, landing inside the copter’s cabin. The small craft bobbed up and down, and shouts erupted as the copter lurched away from the cliff.
Callum hurried to the edge, wishing he could do something, but he wasn’t nimble enough to jump as Terrence had and his added weight would probably take down the copter. He watched helplessly as the helicopter begun to spin. Terrence toppled out of the door, dropping to the ground below. The copter whirled around uncontrollably, then collided with a tree on another cliff and splintered into pieces. Fiery bits of the aircraft fell into the ravine below.
The bear moved to the edge, careful not to get too close. Terrence’s body lay on some rocks about forty feet below. The black cat attempted to stand but fell back down. He was alive. Somehow he and Sophie had to get to him.