Swallowing His Pride (20 page)

“Yes, sir!” they answered in unison, dispersing and no doubt preparing to shift and head out.

Racing through the building, Dylan tore off his clothes then shifted as he entered the tree line, putting on a burst of speed as soon as all four legs hit the ground.

He was less than a hundred yards from the house when the sounds of battle reached his ears. Liam’s enraged roar erupted, followed closely by a yowl of pain from one of the drifters. It appeared he was late to the party. He only hoped that Samantha and Lynn had made it to safety.

Chapter Nine

It had been an hour when Samantha heard the front door crash open. Having changed into a pair of pajamas when she’d gone back to bed earlier, she bypassed her robe to hurry out and see what was going on.

To her dismay, Jag stood in the living room, naked and panting, completely unashamed of his nudity as he barked orders at Liam. “We have to get the women to safety. Now. There are shifters coming, mostly cats, but I’m almost certain I detected a bear, too.”

“The same from town?” Liam asked, already pulling on his boots.

“One, the rest are new,” he replied. “We should take them to the resort. It will be easier to protect them in the heart of Pride territory.”

“No can do. Dylan got called away because of a security breach at the resort. Now, it looks like that might have been nothing more than a distraction.
Shit!
”

“We can’t defend here, Liam, you know that. It’s too open.”

“Well, what do you suggest then, because I’m all ears.”

Jag raked his fingers through his hair, clearly stressed. “I’ll take them to my home. It’s easily defended, and unless these guys are packing dynamite, it’s indestructible.”

Just where the hell does Jag live?
Sam thought as she listened.

Lynn stumbled down the hall, her long blonde hair a tangled mess around her face, and Samantha saw Jag’s attention shift.

“What’s going on?” Lynn asked.

“We’re leaving.”

Well, that was blunt, but if what Jag had said was true, they didn’t have much time to waste.

“Grab what you need and keep it light. Only what’s essential.” He looked right at Lynn. “Bring any medical supplies you might need.”

Eyes wide, Lynn nodded and disappeared back into her room, only to emerge once more with her small duffle bag. She took one look at Samantha and frowned. “You need shoes and a jacket.”

“Yes, mother.” Samantha couldn’t help but sass Lynn. Sarcasm was better than the choking fear that threatened to consume her. Hell, she had two shifters in her house who had no apparent issues with open nudity, a friend who was failing miserably at keeping her eyes north, and who knew how many rogues on her land for some unknown reason. The first two were really nothing new. The last was another matter.

Were these the same shifters from town? Were they targeting her because they think she was with one of their kind, or did they know that she’s mated to the Prime? If that was the case, and they were after her, hitting the resort made no sense, unless Liam was right and they were only trying to lure the men away from her, making their target easier to reach.

Once she was bundled up to Lynn’s satisfaction, they returned to the living room to find Liam and Jag in a rather heated debate.

“They’re more comfortable with you,” Jag argued.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re the best fighter the Pride has ever seen. It would be stupid to send them off with anyone else. Not to mention
nobody
knows where you live. Use that lump three feet north of your ass and get a move on.” The last was little more than a snarl, and Samantha couldn’t remember ever hearing Liam so upset.

“Fine but when it’s safe, you and Dylan head north, to the hills. You’ll find us there.”

“Cripes, you live all the way at the other edge of our land?” She could tell Liam had more questions, but he pressed his lips into a tight line and gave one terse nod. “Fine. Take them now, and I’ll see what I can do to buy you some time.”

“We’ll take the truck, since there’s no way the Prima will be able to make the trek on foot. I’ll move the vehicle once I have them safely settled, so don’t look for it as a way to find us.”

“Noted.” Liam turned and headed for the front door, removing his shirt as he went. When he reached for the snap on his jeans, Lynn spoke up.

“What? You’re going to scare them off with your pasty white ass?”

“Been checking me out, darlin’?”

“You wish, hillbilly.” Lynn smirked, but Sam saw the concern in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to admire my fine self later. Right now, I’m just going hunting.”

Jag, still naked, moved to the back of the house, only to return a moment later. He’d grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the pile of clothes the men kept there. “We need to leave now.”

Everything happened fast. Samantha, Jag and Lynn all piled into the truck. Jag drove with Sam in the middle and Lynn in the passenger seat, her gun in her lap and an extra clip sticking out of her bag.

The only thing more frightening than that was the way Jag drove. Had he ever operated a vehicle? They bumped and bounced across the earth as the truck raced north. When they came to the creek, he turned right and went further upstream before cutting the wheel and splashing through the water in a place just shallow enough for the vehicle to clear.

“Are you nuts? Slow down!” Lynn shouted.

“I can’t. I smell them, and we can’t afford for them to catch us like this. There are too many of them for me to fend off alone.”

Samantha knew it took a lot for any man to admit something like that, but for a shifter who was known to be the Pride’s best fighter? Yeah, that didn’t make her feel any better.

It seemed like forever before he finally eased up on the gas. They were now amongst the hills she’d always admired. They were the perfect backdrop to the evening sunsets when she was outside, but up close, they were little more than stone mounds with patches of greenery interspersed on the surface.

When the truck halted, she looked out and noted a cave in the side of one of the hills. Dylan and Liam had said Jag lived out in the wilderness, but surely—

“Here we are,” he announced, jumping out. “Let’s get you two inside, and I’ll hide the truck so they don’t find us too easily.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Lynn exclaimed. “Your plan is to hide us in a fucking cave? There’s no telling what’s in there. For all we know, some mutated breed of spider could be nesting in there, just waiting for us to walk into its gigantic web.”

There was the city girl Samantha knew and loved. When Lynn had complained about the bugs out in the country, she’d mainly been concerned with the eight-legged variety.

Jag frowned. “I do not have bugs in my home.”

“You
live
in this cave! How could there not be bugs?”

Instead of answering, Jag simply grabbed her up and slung her over his shoulder. Lynn’s jaw dropped, and Sam laughed at her expression. “Well, you
were
practically calling him a caveman.”

“And he’s just proven it,” she snapped. “Put me down!”

Ignoring her completely, he picked up her bag, placing her gun inside then looked back to Samantha. “This way, please.”

They entered the cave, and Sam had to admit, she was rather nervous about what might be dwelling within. About twenty steps inside, they came up to a wall with a metal door. “You really do live here,” Samantha said.

“Yes. With only one entrance, it’s easily guarded and virtually indestructible. You’ll both be safe here until Dylan and Liam get things sorted.”

“Thank you.” And Samantha meant that wholeheartedly. Dylan had explained about Jag’s past, how he lived out on the land, alone, preferring to steer clear of others. For him to open his home to humans, well, that was a major thing for him.

Lynn still hung over his shoulder, arms crossed over her chest, but Sam saw her looking around when they walked through the door.

Inside, it was amazing. The walls, ceiling and floor were all stone, but he’d added living room furniture, rugs, and a dining table with a few wooden chairs. Around a corner looked to be a kitchen, minus any appliances that required electricity. There were lanterns scattered about, and he began to turn them on once he’d set Lynn on her feet.

“I have some gas lamps, but we’ll save those until these die out. I generally use the solar powered or crank lanterns at night.”

“I thought you shifters could see just fine in the dark,” Lynn commented as she really looked around.

“We still need some light, just not much. Unfortunately, this cave doesn’t have any light coming in since I walled up the entrance. There are a few natural vents through the top that allow fresh air in, but with the plants that have grown up near them, there’s little to no sunlight coming through.”

“Do you have a bathroom or anything in here?” Lynn asked, gazing down a tunnel. When he only quirked a brow her way, she huffed, “Oh, right, I forgot men just piss in the bushes.”

“If it makes you feel any better, there is a bath,” he offered. Lynn perked up, her curiosity getting the better of her. “There’s a natural spring in the back of the cave. I hung a curtain so that the warmth stays in that chamber.”

“So it’s a hot spring?” Samantha asked. “Wouldn’t that burn you?”

Jag shrugged. “It’s really more of a warm spring to tell you the truth. I’ve taken showers hotter than the water coming up in there.”

A tightening in her abdomen had Samantha gasping and stopping mid-step. Suddenly, she had the pair’s undivided attention. “Okay, that was a little stronger than the others, Lynn.”

“Crap, I was worried about this,” Lynn muttered, going after her bag. “Get her to the couch,” she ordered Jag.

“What’s going on?” he asked, hurrying over and all but carrying Sam to the massive leather sofa.

“Between that insane ride and the stress, I think she might be going into labor.”

“But it’s too early!” Sam cried. “Can’t we stop it?”

Lynn gave her an incredulous look and shot back, “Sure, you got a cork that size?”

“I’m serious. Don’t they have meds that can stop labor when it’s too early?”

“Sure they do, but we aren’t exactly in a hospital, Sam.”

Jag moved out of the way when Lynn approached. “Will she be okay?”

“Aside from the pain, she’ll be fine. I’ll have to do an exam to see if she’s dilated any, so if you need to move that truck, now would be a great time to do it.”

“Okay,” he replied, turning and heading out at a quick clip. Poor guy was seriously out of his element right now, and it showed. He suddenly looked as if he might pass out. It would have been comical if he wasn’t the only thing standing between them and the shifters chasing them.

Plucking some gloves from a box in her bag, Lynn dug further and came back with some antibacterial gel. “It’s the best I can do on the fly. I’m not about to trust that spring he’s got here.”

Samantha nodded, still trying to come to terms with her baby being on the way, but her mind just kept screaming,
I’m not ready
. Dylan wasn’t there, and she desperately needed him with her. Hell, she didn’t even know if she was having a boy or a girl!

“Okay, I need you to slide your bottoms off so I can check you out.” Not something most people heard from their best friend, but after having Lynn as her doctor for the last eighteen weeks, Samantha didn’t have any secrets anymore, let alone modesty where Lynn was concerned.

Lynn was quick and efficient, something Samantha was grateful for, and announced that Sam was three centimeters dilated already. Once she was adequately covered again, Sam slowly sat up only to be caught by another contraction.

“Easy. You’ll need to relax so you don’t progress too quickly. I’m still hoping the guys will get this mess sorted and we can get you to the clinic where Dr. Lewis can assist me.”

Lynn had been in contact with the shifter physician during the pregnancy, having met him when Dylan brought him to the house to check Samantha. He was a pleasant enough man, but his eyes had unnerved Sam a bit. They were gray and so pale they nearly blended with the whites of his eyes. The effect was downright creepy.

“The man sorta scares me,” Sam confessed. “I know it’s not his fault his eyes are that color, but I really wish he’d put some contacts in or something.”

Lynn cracked up. “
That’s
what you’re scared of? Not that you’re in labor in a cave?” She shook her head. “I agree, his looks are a little off-putting, but I need him here to check out the baby when it’s born. He’s familiar with shifters, and there are too many differences between them and us for me to be comfortable trusting my instincts to know if the baby is healthy and doing well. I don’t know what their regular heart rate is, whether or not any medications will affect them differently. There are just too many factors here.”

That was comforting, especially considering they were out in the middle of nowhere. “Okay, I’ll try. Hopefully, all of this is just a big misunderstanding, and the boys will pull up any minute.”

The likelihood of that happening was shrinking by the minute, and Jag had been gone for nearly an hour already. Samantha could tell Lynn was getting worried too, but she appreciated it when her friend didn’t voice her concerns. Then again, Lynn wasn’t the only one trying to reduce any extra stress. Samantha’s contractions were growing in intensity rather quickly, and it was becoming more and more difficult to hide.

A sound from beyond the door caught their attention. It sounded like a gunshot, and Samantha whimpered when she thought of any of the men being hurt. “Lynn, what are we going to do? If any of them are in human form, they’ll be picked off before they can even get here.”

Her friend’s eyes turned cold, a flat expression coming over her face that scared the hell out of Sam. “I’ll try to lay down some cover. I guess it’s time to see what daddy’s little girl is made of.”

Lynn’s father had been a marine and one hard-assed son of a bitch. He’d taught her to shoot, to hunt…and to never fail at anything. Samantha suspected that’s where Lynn’s real problem with control stemmed from, but she’d never asked.