Avenging Autumn (14 page)

But sudden movement burst from just beyond her, and she went flying backward, toward Blake as a man barged straight into her, shoving her out of the way.

A.J. appeared in the gap, his eyes wild as he started one way and then the next. In his hand, he held a crowbar which he brandished out in front of him.

“Don’t move, A.J.,” Blake yelled, cocking the rifle.

The other man looked at him and let out a yell, then charged.

And Blake fired.

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M
IA STUCK CLOSE to Peter’s side as they ran back through the forest, retracing the route they’d taken on the way up.

She didn’t like the presence of the new shifters. What the hell had Autumn been thinking, allowing them to stay, especially considering they had basically set her up? Chogan had voiced all of their opinions, but Autumn hadn’t even listened to him—and Mia was sure Chogan was the one person Autumn listened to when Blake wasn’t around.

Despite keeping up with the run, Mia still wasn’t feeling right. She didn’t know if it was down to the shift, but she felt weak, and nausea swept over her at intervals. If she’d not already known that shifters rarely—if ever—got sick, she’d have thought she’d picked the stomach flu up from somewhere. Perhaps it was because she’d spent so long in her spirit guide’s form on her first shift. She didn’t know, but she hoped Autumn would let them go back to Wenona’s house to rest for a while. She didn’t like the idea of taking the shifters of Tooth and Claw back with them, but what choice did they have? Autumn was running the show now—something Mia was no longer certain was a good thing. Autumn needed Blake right now, someone to ground her, and make her see sense.

Their route took them via the outskirts of a small town—no more than a main street with a store and a bar, and a couple of rows of dilapidated houses. Autumn, Chogan, Marcus, and the others in the two vehicles were able to stick to the freeway, but the town was so close to the main road, the shifters couldn’t really avoid it. Even so, they stuck to the outskirts, hoping they wouldn’t be noticed at this early hour of the morning.

The crack of a gunshot rang out in the dark, quickly followed by another.

Oh, shit.

Mia glanced over to Peter, whose hackles had raised, his amber eyes wide. Within moments, he was at her side, his big shoulder brushing against hers. What direction had the gunshots come from? Had the bullets been meant for them? The wolves and other shifters up ahead had also drawn back, uncertainty rippling through the group. Did they keep going, and run into danger, or did they need to turn back?

Another shot sounded and one of the wolves—one with the scars on his muzzle—let out a yelp and fell to his side. His friend stopped with him, nosing his flank to get a reaction, but none came. The wolf’s chest lifted and fell, lifted and fell, and then didn’t lift again. The friend lifted his muzzle to the sky and howled.

A whoop of delight came from somewhere toward the town, a number of feet running toward them. A third gunshot sounded, and shocked them all into movement. The footsteps and shots were coming from the direction of the town they were passing. Peter’s shoulder shoved against Mia’s again, but she couldn’t force her eyes away from the fallen body of the wolf. It had suddenly occurred to her that any of them might be killed at any minute, and her own experience at almost dying rolled over her in a chilled wave. Memories of the pain and terror caused her breath to leave her muzzle in short gasps, her heart beating in a patter. She remained, rooted to the ground, staring at the dead wolf.

Sudden pain in her hind leg jolted her from her panic, and she whirled around, to find Peter with his upper lip curled, snarling at her. She realized he’d nipped her, using the pain to snatch her attention. He used his broad head to shove her again. He wanted her to move.

Mia got moving. The only direction they could head was back out toward the road, but they would become trapped between the freeway and the men with guns. At least the freeway was quiet at this time of the morning.

The bird shifters above tried to dive down to help. Their view must have allowed them to see what was going on, but at the same time, the tree branches helped to shelter their attackers. A couple of gunshots aimed upward, into the canopy, sent the bird shifters, Tala and Nadie, climbing back into the sky.

The forms of a number of men—big guys in wife beater shirts, boots, and ripped jeans—burst through the undergrowth and emerged from between the trees. Mia caught the stink of them from here—sweat, old beer, and stale tobacco—and it turned her stomach again. But she couldn’t let her sickness slow her down now.

Where were Autumn and the others?
They had weapons with them. Would they notice they’d not seen any of the shifters running alongside them, and double back? Would they all have been shot by then?

Further cracks of gunshots echoed through the forest, followed by more whoops of enjoyment. These guys were acting as though they were part of a hunting party, and the shifters were their prey.

Perhaps that’s exactly what was going on? Could they have seen the footage of them attacking the other people back at the house Vivian had occupied, and so were reaping some kind of revenge?

The hunters approached the fallen wolf. Mia caught sight of one of the men lifting a foot and placing it on the massive, dead shifter’s body, lifting his rifle in the air like someone who had just shot a prize animal in the Serengeti. They laughed and one lifted his hand and high fived the other.

From out of the bush, a bundle of fur and the white glint of barred teeth came flying. The wolf collided with the boastful hunter, and they tumbled in a mess of fur and white trash. The man’s gun let off a round, before clattering to the ground. His friends stood around, eyes wide in horror. Their weapons were trained on the man and wolf, but it was impossible to get a clean shot in without risking the chance of hitting their friend. Snarls and spittle flew, then the red splatter of blood, bright against the forest floor, speckled on the green of the leaves of surrounding bushes. The man screamed, a sound not suited to a guy of his size. Clearly, the wolf was winning.

Peter’s nose nudged Mia, and she turned to him. He nudged her again, pushing her back, and then started toward the fight. One of the men had his back to them, though he was still armed. But if they didn’t use this distraction to their advantage, they might all end up shot.

She wanted to help, but she still didn’t feel well, and she knew if Peter knew she was joining in with the fight, he would be distracted by her. He’d be concentrating more on whether she was safe than any possible danger around him. Perhaps that was just an excuse she was feeding herself, but she couldn’t help but think it was what would be running through Peter’s head as well.

Peter snarled and leapt for the man who had his back to them. The man got off a shot, but no more as he landed face down in the dirt, with Peter’s powerful jaws locked around the back of his head. Peter was too exposed, standing over the man. One of the other hunters lifted his gun, and Mia’s whole body tensed, her heart about to shatter into a million pieces. But before the guy got a shot off, something hit him, sending him tumbling forward. Another big cat had attacked him from behind—a leopard—and Mia realized the leader of the Company of Tooth and Claw, Ollie Pritchard, had just saved her guy.

Seeing they were losing, the remaining men turned tail and ran back the way they’d come. The others pinned the ones down who had shot at them, holding them to the ground.

The dead wolf had started to shift back to man, revealing the skinny youngster he was as a human.
Who would miss him?
Mia wondered. Did he have any family who would mourn his death?

The sound of vehicles approached from some distance away, followed by feet crunching their way toward them. Mia tensed, ready for a new onslaught, but Chogan arrived first, his long hair streaming out behind him as he ran, Autumn close behind.

“What the hell happened?” Chogan demanded, as he came to a halt.

None of the shifters were capable of answering in words. She needed to use this time to shift back, and tell them the events of the last few minutes. It would give her the opportunity to return back to human form and assess whether or not the feeling of nausea and weakness was to do with her taking the shape of her spirit guide for the first time.

She caught Peter’s eye and jerked her head toward a clump of bushes that would give her cover. She had a change of clothes in the truck, but still felt awkward at the idea of being naked around so many others. Most of the long-time shifters seemed to experience no embarrassment at standing completely nude in front of others, but it wasn’t something Mia was used to.

She was afraid of the excruciating agony of the shift, but she wanted to be back in human form more than she was scared of the pain. She caught sight of Autumn noticing her movements as Mia made her way from the group, but then Autumn and the others were out of sight as she ensconced herself behind the bushes.

Focusing inward, and closing her eyes, she made contact with her big cat guide. The animal was still a little wary of her, but it didn’t shy away when her thoughts connected with its own. She was filled with a sensation of gratitude, of warmth, and she understood that the creature had been thankful for the time she’d allowed it to experience the real world again.

Thank you,
she said, mentally.
But I need you to go now.

With an inward force, she pushed the spirit away.

Pain gripped her body, making her eyes roll in her head. She let out a cry, but it was muffled as her face began to take shape. It felt as if someone was clawing off her skin, leaving her flesh raw and exposed. Her bones shattered and reformed, her limbs wrenching one way and then the other. She felt as though her whole body would be torn apart and she tried to scream her agony, but no sound came out. The pain became blinding, erasing every logical thought, and just as suddenly as it had arrived, it was gone.

Mia was able to breathe again.

She rose to her feet, naked and trembling. Her hands automatically reached to cover her breasts and the patch of hair between her thighs. No one could see her yet, but even so, she felt self-conscious. A rustle in the bush ahead made her jump, but Autumn’s blonde hair and tall figure pushed through, and she relaxed a little.

“Are you okay?” Autumn asked, frowning in concern. A bundle of clothing was in her arms, and she thrust them toward Mia. “Here. I went back to the truck and got you these.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking the clothes. “I feel weird, but I guess that’s only to be expected.” She pulled the sweater over her head, and tugged the jeans up her legs. She could have done with some underwear, but was happy just to be clothed.

Autumn pressed her lips together, her head twisted back in the direction she’d emerged from. “What happened back there?”

“Those guys came out of nowhere. I don’t know if they knew we were coming, or if they just happened upon us, but the moment they saw us, they started shooting. They hit one of the wolves first, and killed him, and then started firing at the rest of us. One of Ollie’s other wolves attacked the shooter, and none of the other guys could get a clear shot. Peter got me out of the way and went back to help. I thought one of the men was going to shoot him too, but then Ollie took the guy out.”

“Ollie Pritchard helped?”

“Yes, but don’t let him fool you. I saw the way you looked at him, and the way he looked at you, too.”

Autumn’s cheeks colored. “There was nothing to see.”

“Autumn, sweetie, I’ve known you your whole life. I can tell when you’re checking someone out, and he was doing exactly the same to you. I don’t know if you’re on some kind of self destruct mission because of what happened to your dad, but believe me when I say that guy is bad news. You have Blake waiting for you. Steer clear of blondie, okay?”

“I know that,” she said, her tone curt, lips thinning. “And I’m not on a self-destruct mission. All I want is to find Vivian.”

“I understand that. Just don’t let your focus on finding Vivian make you lose sight of everything else.”

She nodded. “I know you’re right.” Her eyes studied Mia’s face. “And how are you doing?”

Mia shrugged. “I’m okay. Just trying to adjust, that’s all. Now shouldn’t we get back to the others? They’ve still got a couple of the hunters pinned.”

“Sure.”

They walked back to where the shifters still held down the men who had attacked them. Autumn walked over to stand over the first one who had shot the wolf.

“Why did you attack my shifters?” she demanded.

The man looked up with wide, fearful eyes. “I know you. You’re the one who can make these freaks!”

Autumn drew back a foot and kicked the man in the stomach.

Mia put her hand to her mouth. Autumn being violent wasn’t like her at all.

“Tell me why you shot my shifters,” she said again.

“We saw the footage on the internet of you attacking all those poor people. We knew the location wasn’t too far from here, so we figured some of your freaks might be in the forest. It was nothing but good luck that made you cross our path.”

Chogan snorted. “Or bad luck for you.”

The man snapped back, “Your wolf friend over there wouldn’t think so.”

Autumn kicked him again and he let out a gasp of air.

“What do you want us to do with the sons of bitches?” asked Chogan.

“Kill them,” she said.

Mia shook her head. “Autumn, no. We can’t just go around killing everyone! What’s happened to you?”

Autumn turned on her. “So it’s okay for everyone to hurt the people we love, but not all right for us to retaliate?”

“We’re better off sending these two back as a message,” Mia said. “Get them to tell their friends that if they mess with shifters, they’ll be the ones who end up hurt.”

Autumn pressed her lips together and turned to Ollie, who was still in leopard form. “It was your shifter who was killed. This should be your decision.”