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Baatar is so going to chew my ass over this.
Siofra stared into the dead eyes of the vicious jackal shifter holding her down on the wooden table like she was a picnic lunch he planned to devour. He and the ugly buddy beside him acted weird. Their pupils were dilated.
Were they on drugs?
Her first Sunday of freedom sucked.
Two days ago, she’d thought her luck was changing the minute Toto’s keeper gave Siofra a car ride from the side of the road. But that luck had run out yesterday.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, just unknowingly sat beside shifters—a female lynx shifter and her cub—on the bus they’d taken out of Columbus, Texas. She didn’t hold it against the woman and her son for being shifters.
Siofra wouldn’t have known what they were if the little boy hadn’t started changing while he slept. The woman had sent a panicked look to Siofra as if she would out them.
Siofra had a moment of indecision, because Baatar’s constant warnings echoed in her head ... telling her that any shifter was a threat.
But she saw only a frightened woman trying to protect her child. Siofra had smiled and whispered, “Just wake him up and calm him down.” After that, they were bus buddies. The woman whispered what she was and how she’d been moving slowly across the country to find family who would protect them.
Siofra couldn’t treat that woman and child any differently than the children and female captives she’d cared for over the years. Male shifters were definitely not to be trusted any more than a Cadell, but Siofra had trouble hating anyone.
She’d never been a hater at heart.
On that bus ride, she’d imagined finding a place to settle with Baatar where she could find a job taking care of young children.
Now she couldn’t see her future.
Siofra didn’t blame the lynx shifter for getting caught. It was just a matter of Siofra being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Story of her life, apparently. She’d been holding the sleeping boy for his exhausted mom as the three of them took a stroll around a restaurant where the bus had stopped last night. She’d been more than ready to stretch her legs after hours upon hours of sitting.
The bounty hunters jumped them the minute they stepped out of sight of the restaurant windows. She was dragged into a van and whisked away in a matter of seconds.
Baatar would have yelled at her, but given the same situation, she knew in her heart he would have been nice to the mom and her cub, too. That’s what a good man would do.
Baatar would not, however, be staring up at a crazy shifter with no hope of getting away.
She had a lecture coming from her camp brother, which she’d welcome if she could find a way out of this. And if he ever escaped.
The only positive was that neither of these two recognized her white hair. They weren’t from the Cadells.
“Touch you and I’ll die?” The bald shifter laughed in her face. “You think you can threaten me, bitch?” he gritted out with a mouthful of bad breath.
Not really, but she was desperate for any way to keep him from putting his hands on that little boy. She’d been trying to rally her energy and hoped the threat would cause it to show up or make these two think twice about being around her.
“Time for you to shift, bitch, if you don’t want to be our next meal.”
His disgusting buddy nodded in agreement.
Fighting to keep her voice as calm as she could, Siofra said, “I-I don’t know what ... ”
Pissed, he sliced a claw across her stomach and burned a new hot path through her skin.
She arched with the pain and opened her mouth to scream.
He slapped his hand over her mouth. She clamped her teeth down hard, breaking skin and tasting his nasty blood before he snatched his hand away.
“Shit! Bitch bit me!”
She sucked in what was left of her scream so she wouldn’t have to bite him again, but her stomach hurt so much. Had he infected her with his shifter blood?
Could he turn her because she bit him?
Please, no. Anything but a jackal.
He slashed a claw down her arm. She keened at the pain.
The second guard was smaller and had a bad case of the shakes, but he laughed. “Just cut her open and force her to shift, Vern. If she doesn’t, we use her to feed the group.”
Tears streamed from her eyes. Her skin burned where he’d clawed her and she couldn’t draw a deep breath.
She’d sold crazy before. Could she do it again? She had nothing else for defense. She warned him again, “I have bad energy inside me. If you hurt me, it will show up and you’ll die.”
An empty threat this time, when she felt no weird power tingling in her body and no ghost coming to get in the way.
“You’re crazy, you know that?”
Score. But hey, she must be if even a stranger realized it.
Vern lifted his claw-tipped fingers once again. “I’m going to open you up. If gutting you doesn’t make you change, you ain’t a shifter.”
He smacked a hand over her mouth to muffle her scream again.
As Vern’s other hand came down to strike, his shaky sidekick slammed into him, knocking Vern to the side.
Still braced for horrible pain and death, it took a second for her to realize she was free of Vern’s grasp. Adrenaline had to be the only reason she could twist around and scramble off the table in spite of her bleeding wounds.
Cupping her middle, she stumbled to the nearest tree and turned to look behind her at the sound of fists hitting bodies.
A man was attacking the jackal shifters.
She had to be hallucinating. No man had ever come to her rescue except Baatar.
This guy had a beefed-up body and stood as tall as balding Vern, but those jackals were hyped up on something. Probably Jugo Loco.
That man had no hope to defeat them.
Her savior turned his head her way for a second. Fierce golden eyes met her gaze and a buzz of energy raced through her. The moment passed just as quickly. Returning to the battle, he knocked the bald one off his feet and now fought the shaky sidekick with a series of strikes that looked like something impressive from an action movie. His movements were a blur of quick, accurate hits, where the jackals’ were off-balance and sloppy.
Vern came up from the ground looking furious and out for blood. He swiped a clawed hand at the new guy, slashing his neck and ripping open his shoulder.
Based on strength and speed alone, Golden Eyes had to be a shifter, which meant he’d heal fast, but at the moment he fought injured.
Vern took advantage of hurting the new guy and punched him off his feet. She clenched her hands, wanting to help him. She should be running, but guilt would rip her apart. This man had stepped into danger and allowed her to get away.
Her brain kept screaming, “Go now!” She should, but she couldn’t just turn and run, leaving him to face two shifters strung out on drugs.
Not after he’d saved her from being gutted.
Baatar would not be happy with her, but this was one of those moments that defined a person. Like helping a lynx shifter and her child.
Siofra could not live with herself if she left this man to die. Anyone who stood between her and danger was worth fighting to save.
Terror swamped her at stepping in.
What could she do to help?
Golden Eyes was back on his feet, but Vern slugged the guy’s damaged shoulder. Her savior sucked in a deep breath.
She fisted her hands, wanting to shove that punch back at Baldy.
All at once, the buzz of energy she’d felt two days ago returned. It built with intensity and flowed through her bare feet, then up her legs. It spread throughout her core and all the way to her fingers.
She clutched her middle as the energy ignited a fire in her gut. At the same time, the pain in her stomach subsided and her wound began to heal.
How was that happening?
Siofra had little experience with freedom most people took for granted, and she’d spent her life without much hope for a better tomorrow. From this point forward, she would follow her new, personal Rule Number One.
Don’t waste time questioning any good luck that falls your way like small dogs running up to you in the dark, golden-eyed strangers who appear out of nowhere to save you, or weird energy that manifests itself whenever it wants.
Especially if said energy gets your butt out of danger.
What had Baatar told her? You are strong. You can do this, Baby Girl.
Of course, he’d also told her to stay away from shifters.
Details, details.
She couldn’t stay away from all shifters. That was becoming painfully obvious. She had to find a way to help the others escape before she got out of here, but maybe the man fighting the jackals was here to save them.
She raced forward, heading for the jittery jackal, who had just gotten to his feet after being knocked on his ass.
He’d smirked the whole time his friend slashed her skin.
He must have sensed her coming or heard her footsteps, because he tried to whip around.
She lunged forward at the last second and grabbed the exposed skin at his waist, hanging on for dear life as he staggered. He jerked back and forth, trying to shake her off. The creep smelled nasty, like he’d rolled in crap. She dug her fingertips into his back and felt energy shoot out of her fingers.
His arm flew around to backhand her, but before his hand could connect, he tensed, then froze in that position and shuddered hard.
Just like Dyson.
Foam came out of his mouth.
That hadn’t happened with Dyson.
She let go and backed up. Her hands trembled and she lifted them, staring at what had apparently become weapons. If he died, that would make two people she’d killed.
Loud cursing and the sound of heavy fists hitting bodies dragged her attention from her hands.
What about Vern? He was bigger than either Dyson or the one she’d just put down. Vern continued blasting hits at the new guy, whose shoulder hadn’t even begun to heal. He would die if she didn’t do something.
But what if she killed another person?
What if she stood around debating her moral dilemma and the guy who saved her from these jackals got shredded?
She could still feel the energy circulating through her core.
Pushing her conscience to the side to face later, she started for the bald guy. This time, she’d try to limit her attack to just grab, shock, and let go real fast.
Just as she reached for his arm, the jackal went flying backwards twenty feet, sliding to a stop on his back.
What the heck? She stared at the body.
Fingers touched her arm gently. A deep voice warned, “Don’t get too close. He’s still dangerous, just knocked out.”
She jerked her head around to the broad chest of Golden Eyes, but kept her gaze down even though it was dark. Her mismatched eyes were as identifiable a feature as her white hair. She’d hidden her eyes with a pair of bent sunglasses she’d found in a bus station garbage can and fixed. They’d ended up smashed when the wolves kidnapped her.
Thunder rumbled overhead, but she paid it no mind.
A sizzle of energy slid down her arm and hummed where this man’s hand touched her skin, as if her energy gave him a little hello.
She stared at that spot, expecting to see something.
A red glow. A blue glow. Any glow.
Why was that buzz happening? Was she doing it ... or him? Was it the same energy that had killed Dyson? Would it hurt this man too? She started to step away, but all at once, her teeth chattered and she couldn’t stop the shaking that racked her body.
“Hold on.” He pulled her to him. “You’re going through shock, but you’re safe. I won’t let them hurt you again.”
She should be backing up and running.
But she couldn’t. It felt so good for him to touch her.
For years, she’d longed for a man to hold her in a way that made her feel cherished, wanted, cared for and ... loved. That would probably never happen, but freedom was supposed to mean a new life where she could feel like the women she read about in magazines and books.
The other bounty hunters were just beyond the trees. She’d heard rumors whispered by newcomers in the camps, about laws that had been passed making it illegal for shifters to hunt and sell other shifters. Maybe those rumors were true, because this man acted as if he were here to save the caged women and children. He probably had more people with him. If so, she could sneak out once the bad guys were taken down. She should be counting her lucky stars and heading the opposite direction.
But being held in this man’s arms hampered any thought of breaking free to run. Just a few seconds more.
She needed this right now, this minute, and couldn’t make herself let go any more than someone dying of thirst could turn away a drink of water. If the world exploded into a fireball on her next breath, she’d have this to hold onto as her last memory.
He rubbed her back and she just stood there like a content idiot, soaking up the comfort she had so rarely received. Baatar hugged her sometimes, but it was more like getting a pat on the head from a big brother.
This man had her up against his warm body and wrapped in his powerful arms, which felt nothing like sibling reassurance. He murmured soothing words that swirled around in her chest and latched onto her heart.
She could stay here forever.
What? No, not forever. She had to keep moving. And she would in just a moment. One tiny minute couldn’t make that much difference, could it?
He spoke close to her ear in a reprimanding tone, “That was a crazy move to jump on a shifter. I can’t believe you did that.”
At his censure, she pushed away.
He immediately opened his arms, which she appreciated. Sort of. She’d liked being held, but she had to make sure the others were being rescued, then get running again.
Plus, he’d just criticized her.
“Really?” She narrowed her eyes into thin slits, which helped hide her mismatched gaze while countering his look of censure with one of her own. “I saved you and you’re going to lecture me?”
“No, I wasn’t.” He took a step back and shoved a hand across his mussed, dark-brown hair, which only made him look rugged and hot. He grumbled, “I was trying to say thank you, dammit.”
“Thank you, dammit? Nice.”
His golden gaze locked on her with a disgruntled expression. “Just thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She might sound more appreciative if he hadn’t bitten out the words. Just when she had the upper hand in this exchange, she noticed his shoulder wound and felt like a jerk for sniping at him. But he had her off-kilter and she hated to feel out of balance around a man.
Had something just made a scratchy electronic noise?
When he lifted his hand to his ear, he grimaced. That shoulder still wasn’t healing. Why not?
Dropping his hand, he said, “Time to find a place for you—”
Lightning crackled through the sky, interrupting him and warning that the summer storm would unload soon.
Still focused on his awful injury, she reached for the jagged skin torn from his shoulder. “You’re bleeding badly.”
“It’ll be fine, but you need to ... ” he started to say, then he paused and became motionless at the same moment her energy pulsed between her hand and his shoulder.
What shocked her even more was how she felt his energy surge to meet hers. The same energy that had killed one ... maybe two people. Okay what was going on?
But this had been like two energy puppies making friends instead of hers acting like a rabid dog.
His shoulder appeared to be healing. Had her unpredictable energy done that or had his healing ability finally kicked in?
The combined hum from whatever they were both generating rushed over her skin.
She snatched her hand away and stepped back. He was a shifter. What had his energy been doing to hers?
He shook off his momentary confusion and asked, “What’s wrong? You’re looking at me now like I grew three heads.”
She whispered, “You’re a shifter.” And she’d been touching him, had allowed him to comfort her.
Baatar would be shouting like a madman if he stood here now.
Golden Eyes returned to talking in a soothing voice. “Yes, I’m a shifter, but I won’t hurt you. I just need you to stay calm and hide until we finish dealing with these bad shifters. I expect another one to come this way soon and I have to be ready for him.” He’d emphasized bad as if to separate himself from the entire population of dangerous shifters.
When she didn’t speak, he urged, “Work with me and we’ll get you returned to your people.”
She took a step back as a raindrop hit her head. “Actually, I don’t have any family. I’m good. I’ll just mosey on.”
Not very far, though, until she could determine that all those in cages had been saved.
Now he looked pissed. But that was normal for a male shifter, right?
He said, “Don’t run. You can’t outrun me, plus I’d like to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“I just want to ask you something, dammit.”
“What? Ask me now.” She had to keep him talking. Maybe the shifter he was waiting for would show up soon to take his attention. That would allow her to sneak around to see what was happening with the women and children. If she got caught again and died, it would be with a clear conscience.
More drops began to tap against the leaves and ground.
“When you ... ” His gaze ripped past her. “Move!”
Wheeling around, she barely had time to dive to the side before Baldy ran her over. When she scrambled to her feet and turned, Golden Eyes had hit Vern straight on, knocking him to the ground. They rolled around, pounding each other until they separated and got up to make another run at each other.
She continued backing toward the woods behind her.
Lightning-quick blows landed with dull thuds until Golden Eyes kicked the jackal in the gut, knocking him back and pinning him to the ground with his body. He slammed a rock-crushing fist at the jackal’s jaw.
The shifter’s arms flopped to the ground. He groaned.
Not dead.
Her heart rate doubled. She should have been deep in the woods by now, maybe even to a highway. Not staring at the most beautiful gaze she’d ever seen and trying to figure out how to save the others. Maybe she could zap the rest of the guards.
Not unless she could do it all at once, and that was assuming her energy would show up when she needed it.
Rain drizzled, enough now to drench her hair and clothes.
Without moving his gaze from her, Golden Eyes muttered, “Stop. I told you. We’re here to help.”
“You can’t help me.” She’d made the mistake of making one shifter friend along the way and had ended up captured by association.
Baatar expected her to be smarter than that. She was making too many mistakes, like getting cozy with a male shifter and wasting precious time trying to find a way to save strangers. Baatar had accused her of having an oversized heart, and not in a good way. He kept telling her that caring for strangers would one day put her in deep trouble.
She didn’t want to tell him he’d been right about getting in trouble.
The jackal laid out on the ground took a drunken swing at her savior. Golden Eyes slapped his hand away then popped Vern one last time, knocking him out.
She took two more steps back.
Those gold eyes lifted to hers once more and this time that gaze pleaded with her. “Wait for a few minutes. We can help you. We’ll take you to a sanctuary.”
He meant lock her up with a bunch of shifters. Shaking her head and looking away, she said, “You’re safe. I can’t stay.”
His face fell with an incredulous expression. “I’m safe?” Then his head jerked around to look in the direction where the cages were being guarded.
Now that they weren’t talking, she could hear the sounds of fighting going on back there. A rescue team?
She asked, “Are those your people I hear fighting?”
He turned back to her. “Yes.”
“Can they save everyone in the cages?”
“Yes. We can save all of you.”
Now that she knew someone would save those women and their children, she felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders.
When he spoke this time, it was an order and came out with a load of power. “Don’t move.”
The power rushed over her and past. She stuck her chin in the air. “Your magic will not work on me. For once, do the right thing and let me go.”
“Magic? I don’t have any magic.” He pushed up from the comatose bald shifter and kept talking. “What about you and that energy? Are you a witch or a healer?”
“Neither. Stay away from me. My power kills.” Swinging around, she was gone, letting his curse fade behind her.
He had a shifter’s speed to catch her.
But by the time two minutes had passed with no sign of him, she took a deep breath of relief. Maybe one more decent man like Baatar lived in this world.
Too bad Golden Eyes was a shifter and she’d never see him again to find out what he’d wanted to ask her.
That made her sad, and okay that might be foolish thinking, but she couldn’t change the fact that he’d given her a moment of comfort like she’d never experienced before.
Right now, she had to get out of these woods while she had a chance.
