He sprang off towards the back of the boarding house. He was going for help! She worried that the female might decide to send the men in after the kids anyway and discover that Henry was gone, so she quickly devised a plan. She went limp, creating a distraction to keep them focused on her.
The two men holding her arms were surprised when she acted as if she fainted, losing their grip, causing her to slip to the cold ground. She might have surprised them, but she didn’t stall them much. She found herself lifted quickly and tossed over the shoulder of one of the men, the air whooshing from her lungs.
“Toss her in,” one of the men said, and Sam knew she had to get away now or she’d be dead. She just hoped that Henry could find the men fast and if nothing else, she would at least know that she’d done her best to keep the kids safe.
When the man holding her stopped walking, Sam took a deep breath and arched her back up fast and hard, twisting her upper body and kicking her legs with all her might. She latched onto the roof of the van, propelling herself up and levering her legs to kick off the door until she could scramble on top of the van. She didn’t wait for the men to get over their shock. She got to her feet, raced across the top of the van and leapt into the snow. Her heart pounded in her ears as the men shouted after her as she ran down the long drive towards the road. Pounding feet echoed around her and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She let out a scream that pierced the night: “Aaron! Grant!”
As hands snagged her, and she was pulled backwards with an angry curse, she prayed that they would come for her in time.
Chapter 12
Aaron paused before going after the buck he’d been stalking. Sitting back on his haunches, he sniffed the air. He felt fear, but it was very faint. Not the same kind of fear from the animals they were stalking, but something that tugged at him faintly. He turned towards where Grant was prowling with James and John and chuffed at him. Grant’s ears twitched as he turned in Aaron’s direction and moved to him.
There were times when he wished he could speak in his shifted form. This was one of those times. Aaron jerked his head towards home. Aaron wasn’t sure, but he felt the need to go back. Maybe it was because he could still feel the warmth of Sam against him when he’d kissed her goodbye, or because he …
what the hell
?
His train of thought stopped abruptly, and he could faintly hear Sam calling for him. Something definitely wasn’t right. He growled a warning to the others and took off for home, Grant at his side. The strange, faint fear grew stronger as they raced towards the boarding house. It was Sam. She was terrified, and he was so in tune with her that his cat could sense it, even across the distance they’d traveled hunting. Every instinct in his body screamed that he’d made a mistake leaving Sam alone with the boys tonight. Whatever was causing her fear, he only hoped they would get to her in time.
She was their mate, and the thought that something terrified her made his paws pound faster on the ground. Were the boys hurt? Was that why she was so scared? Or was she the one who was hurt? Questions rolled through his mind, and he held onto the hope that as long as he could feel her fear, she was going to be fine when they got to her.
“Dad? Uncle Grant? Uncle Aaron?” His nephew Henry’s voice broke through the night air and sent a chill racing down his spine. Henry, shoeless and wet with sweat, gasped for breath and screamed the names of his uncles and father, desperation and fear in every word.
They were a half-mile from home. He raced to Henry and paused long enough for Henry to say, “A female lion and a bunch of men took Sam!”
Aaron’s claws dug for purchase in the hard packed snow, and he shot towards the faint lights from the boarding house he could see through the thick trees. He was exhausted, but knowing Sam had been taken by a female changed things. He knew for certain that her life was in danger.
The house loomed into view, and he bolted past it, feeling his heart clench as the scent of Sam’s blood and her fear strengthened when he rounded the corner. He roared in rage as he bounded past the front of the house and raced down the driveway, following shouts of alarm.
A police cruiser was blocking the driveway, and his nephew Eryx, gun drawn, stood several feet away from six human men. One of them held Sam in a chokehold. Aaron shifted into his human form and stalked towards the men.
“Whatever your issue is with us, let Sam go. She’s innocent. A human we asked to babysit the cubs while we hunted.” Aaron spoke as calmly as he could. It was a lie, but they wouldn’t know that.
The man holding Sam snorted derisively. “It’s not nice to lie. She said she was the kids’ mom.” His hold on Sam’s neck tightened, and Sam made a strangled sound and appeared to be unable to move. One side of her face was badly bruised and blood trickled from her nose and from the corner of her mouth. Her clothing was ripped, her shoes were missing, and her eyes were glossy with pain. Aaron wasn’t even sure she could see him.
“Who are you?” Aaron asked angrily. “Why do you have my mate?”
One of the other men, eyeing Eryx’s gun warily said, “The blonde told us that she’d pay big if we helped get her kids away from this house tonight. But this girl here, she says to take her instead of the kids.”
“Shut up, Mike,” the man holding Sam growled.
“Let the female go,” Eryx said evenly.
Aaron was aware when the rest of the pride males surrounded the men, stalking quietly towards them from behind, still in their shifted forms. The man holding Sam panicked and began to put pressure on Sam’s neck.
Aaron lunged forward just as Grant sank his claws into the man’s shoulders and pulled him backwards with a furious roar. Sam crumpled to the ground as the males shifted into their human forms and battled with the men. Aaron’s only thoughts were of Sam and how limp she was when he pressed his trembling fingers to her neck to find her pulse.
It was faint. He could hardly tell the difference between the pounding in his head and the feel of her pulse against his fingers. A hand touched his shoulder and he roared, crouching over Sam’s body defensively and baring his elongated fangs.
“Uncle Aaron? It’s me, Ethan,” his nephew said soothingly.
Aaron couldn’t control his beast. He crouched lower over Sam, protectively, snarling at Ethan. The human part of him knew Ethan was there to help. The lion part of him didn’t want anyone else to touch her.
An arm wrapped around his neck tightly and jerked him away from Sam. He howled and struggled, his claws springing free from his fingers and raking down his attacker’s arms.
“For fuck’s sake, Aaron, it’s me, John!”
Aaron heard Grant roaring in anger, too, and his vision narrowed until he saw his brother struggling against James’ hold on him as Ethan checked Sam over. “Don’t make me knock you out, man. Get it together. For Sam,” John growled.
Sam.
Aaron snarled, forcing his cat to stand down in his mind. The rage ebbed slightly, helping him to get a handle on his out of control emotions.
He willed the tension to leave his body and said hoarsely, “I’m good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Are the kids okay?” John released him slowly, and Aaron took in a deep breath.
James released his hold on Grant and said, “Henry’s with them. Sam told them to stay in the house, and they did.”
“I don’t think they saw her get hurt,” Eryx said from where he watched over the men. Only two of them were unconscious, the other four were injured but awake. The sound of sirens filled the air, and Eryx said, “I called for help from Bracks and the bear den. Chief Pope is coming in the ambulance, and their chief of police is bringing a prison transport van. We don’t have room in our jail for all six of them, but Bracks does. We’ll transport and process them there.”
Aaron knelt in the snow next to Sam, and Grant fell to his knees next to him. Ethan glanced up at them as he cleaned the wound on her head. “She’s unconscious still. That guy probably would have snapped her neck if you hadn’t pulled him away when you did, Uncle Grant. We’ll get her thoroughly checked out at the hospital. Are you guys okay?”
Grant rubbed his throat where James had held him tightly, and nodded. “We’re fine. I’m going to go into the house and talk to the kids and get dressed. I’ll bring out some clothes for you, Aaron, and you can ride with her in the hospital. I’ll meet you there.”
Aaron nodded and brushed his thumb across the top of Sam’s cold hand. Ethan had draped a blanket over her, but she was still on the ground until the EMTs could put her on a backboard. He felt Ethan’s hand on his shoulder again, and he met his nephew’s eyes. “She’ll be okay, Uncle Aaron. She’s a fighter.”
The ambulance arrived and Chief Pope, king of the were-bear den, barked orders at the two EMTs, and they hurriedly strapped Sam to a backboard and fit her with a collar. Grant had brought out clothes for him, and Aaron dressed, numb to everything around him except for Sam. He’d not ever known real terror until he’d seen the breath being choked out of her body.
He stomped over to where the police were loading the men into the prisoner transport van. The two who were still unconscious were being tended to by another ambulance. The one who had hurt Sam was bleeding and badly injured from Grant’s attack.
Eryx grabbed Aaron by the jacket sleeve. Aaron stopped before he got too close to one of the men, who stood silently in cuffs. “Why?”
The man shrugged. “The woman told us that the kids belonged to them. Then she jumped into the van and took off just as we heard sirens coming this way. So I don’t know what her beef is with you, but she’s a total bitch for leaving us out in the cold like this. I hope she rots.”
The police chief of Bracks took the man away and loaded him into the transport, slamming the door shut.
Aaron turned to look at his pride. “They knew that Sam was alone with the kids and virtually defenseless.”
Eryx frowned. “Clearly the females have been watching us. One of the men said they were going to take the kids. I wonder what their plans were for them?”
Aaron shuddered at the thought of his precious kids in the females’ hands. Over his dead body.
John growled. “We know now to keep better watch over our loved ones. More and more of our males call to join us here in Ashland. There’s strength in numbers.”
But at whose expense? Sam’s? Their kids?
“Uncle Aaron?” Ethan called from where he stood next to the open ambulance where Sam was being tended by Pope’s two EMTs. Pope was not only fire chief of the town of Bracks, but he was also an EMT and a good friend to the mountain lions. Aaron joined Ethan and Pope.
“Climb on in, Aaron,” Pope said and clapped him on the back. “We’ll get your girl to the hospital real quick. She’s in good hands.”
“I know. Thank you.” Aaron felt emotions well up in him as he climbed into the ambulance and sat down on the bench. Minutes after they turned onto the main road and headed towards the nearest hospital, he saw several vehicles turn onto the road from their driveway to follow them. It lifted his spirits to know that his family supported him.
He heard the buzz of the EMTs voices as they filled out their charts and checked on Sam, but he wasn’t really listening. Sam was alive, and that was all that mattered at the moment. When she was awake and could fill them in on what happened, then they’d see what they were dealing with.
Chapter 13
Grant paced in the waiting room at the hospital, shifting his eyes from his kids to the hallway where the doctors would come with news. Aaron had been with her when she arrived, and when the doctors took over, he joined them in the waiting room. Grant brought all the kids with him to the hospital, and although they’d tried to be strong and not cry, when Aaron had joined them in the waiting room, all the kids had fallen apart. Grant wasn’t sure how often in the last few hours he had felt as if his heart was breaking into pieces, but he’d had enough heartache in the span of an evening to last a lifetime.
He paced the length of the waiting room again, where his sons and nephews sat together, leaning against each other and dozing as the night dragged towards dawn. Henry, who hadn’t said a word since they’d arrived at the hospital, sat next to John. James entered the room with a tray of Styrofoam coffee cups.
“Any word?” James asked.
“Not yet. During the last update, the doctors were just waiting for her to wake up. Miraculously, she doesn’t have any broken bones, but she was choked into unconsciousness and they don’t know when she’ll wake up,” Grant said.
“Rhett, Lisa, and Callie all send their love,” James told him.
Grant smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. This whole night was one huge cluster-fuck.
“Has Eryx found the van that Niecy was driving?” John said, coming to stand with them.
James nodded. “It was abandoned a few miles outside of Ashland. The piece of paper she left on the island with the phone number was for a pay-as-you-go cell phone that’s been turned off. I doubt she even has it anymore.” James glanced at Henry. “He okay?”