“I thought that was just the way you came,” Ella said, throwing the snowball. “Yes! Two for two!”
“That’s it, you’re going down,” Ty yelled.
Ella laughed and turned back into the forest again. This time, she used both her hands and her feet to move through the snow. She would have had a better chance if she had stuck to the animal trails. The snow wasn’t quite as high there. Her breath whooshed out in surprise when she felt Ty’s arm wrap around her waist. She twisted in his arms as they fell; her eyes unknowingly alight with love and laughter.
Her arms reached up to wrap around his neck and she pulled him down to her. Their lips connected, sealing out the wintry world around them as they became lost in each other once again. Ella kissed Ty with an anguished longing that seared her soul.
She reluctantly released Ty when he pulled back to look down at her. Her hand slid down and she tenderly stroked his jaw, feeling the dark stubble of his beard against her palm. Her eyes glittered with emotion. She knew she should shield the emotion in them, but she couldn’t.
“Ella, I’m falling in love with you,” Ty murmured, his eyes blazing with intensity. “I knew you were meant for me when I first saw you, but I never knew what love was until I met you.”
Ella sniffed and laughed as a tear escaped to slide down the side of her face. Reaching up, she pressed another hot kiss to his lips. She was about to tell him that she was falling in love with him as well when a strange noise caused her to jerk back.
“What is that?” She whispered, pushing against him and cursing when she realized she didn’t have her lance with her.
She had left it in the tent. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Her hand went to her side and she pulled the long, bone handled knife from her waist and rolled to her feet.
“It’s a helicopter,” Ty exclaimed, looking up as a dark shadow flew over the top of the trees.
Ella impatiently brushed at the snow that fell from the branches above them due to the wind from the metal bird. Her lips parted and her eyes widened in fear when she got a better look at the beasts’ machine. She stumbled backwards a few steps and would have fallen if Ty hadn’t reached out and steadied her.
“It looks – huge,” she whispered, unsure of how else to describe it.
“It must be Tracy and the guys,” Ty muttered. “They’re landing near the river. Come on.”
“You go first,” Ella said in a thick voice. “I will follow.”
Ty glanced at her with a worried expression. She shook her head and motioned for him to go first. It made more sense so that they could step along the path they had already created through the snow.
“It will be alright,” Ty assured her turning back toward their camp.
“I know,” Ella whispered, watching him. “Be safe.”
Ella waited just long enough for him to reach the edge of the woods. The sound of the large metal bird would cover the sound of her running. Once she was far enough away, she would cover her tracks as well. It had been stupid of her to believe she could ever be a part of his life, much less his world. They were two different species – human and beast – from two totally different worlds.
*.*.*
Ty waited until the helicopter circled around and landed before he approached it. Through the clear glass, he could see Tracy’s and Van’s faces. He watched them remove their headphones before the side door opened and Peterson climbed out. Peterson turned and helped Tracy before turning toward Ty.
A grin curved Ty’s lips when he saw his sister running toward him. She had the irritated, I-worried-about-you expression on her face. He waited until they came closer before he spoke.
“Are you alright? Ella said you took a blow to the head,” Tracy demanded before he even had a chance to open his mouth.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Ty replied dryly. “I have a hard head, remember? It isn’t like you haven’t hit me upside it a time or two.”
“That’s different,” Tracy muttered, grabbing his face between her cold hands and holding it steady as she stared into his eyes.
Ty grimaced and shot Van and Peterson a deadly glare when they chuckled under their breaths. He pulled his face out of Tracy's hands and took a step back. He scowled when she put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
“What?” He asked, raising his hands. “I told you I was fine.”
“So, where is she?” Tracy demanded, glancing around.
Ty partially turned. His lips tightened when he didn’t see Ella. She was probably waiting for him to let her know everything was going to be okay.
“Don’t scare her,” he warned. “She thinks you’ll tear her to pieces.”
“Maybe a few centuries ago,” Van snorted, before he shrugged and held his hands up in surrender. “I know, I got it – no scaring the humans. I’ll behave.”
“I mean it,” Ty warned under his breath, glaring at Van and Peterson before he turned to look back at the woods. “Ella, it’s okay. It’s just my sister and our friends. They won’t hurt you.”
The four of them waited for Ella to step out from behind the tree. Ty frowned when she didn’t. Worried, he took a step toward the woods. He paused when he felt Tracy’s light touch on his arm.
“Maybe it would be better if the three of us waited by the fire,” Tracy suggested. “She must be terrified.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ty muttered.
“Tell her we don’t bite,” Peterson added with a grin. “At least, not without permission.”
“Shut up, Peterson,” Ty muttered with a shake of his head. “I’ll be back in a second.”
“Come on, guys,” Tracy ordered, grabbing the other two men by the arm. “Let’s give them some privacy.”
Van sniffed the air as they walked closer to the tent. A grin crossed his and Peterson’s faces and the two men raised their eyebrows at each other. Ty didn’t miss the grins that passed between the men or the knowing looks they shot him before he turned away. Raising the middle finger on both of his hands, he turned and walked toward the woods.
“Damned canine sense of smell,” Ty muttered under his breath.
Ty strode to the area where he and Ella were together just minutes before. He frowned when he didn’t see her standing near the edge of the woods. He pushed through the snow to where they were lying before the helicopter had flown overhead. Dread pulled at him the further he walked.
“Ella!” He called out, looking around. “Ella, honey, it’s okay. They won’t hurt you.”
He stopped and glanced back, seeing the path they had taken into the woods and then looked in the opposite direction. He could see Ella’s small prints leading away from his camp. He knew at that moment what she had done.
“Ella!” He roared as a shaft of fear tore through him. “Ella!”
He turned when he heard the sound of footsteps rushing up behind him. Grief tore at him. His mouth tightened into a line of determination when he saw the others rushing toward him.
“What is it?” Tracy asked breathlessly.
“She bolted,” Ty replied in a grim voice. “I should have known she would.”
“We can find her,” Van said, grabbing the bottom of his sweater. “She can’t have gone far.”
“Be careful,” Ty warned. “She’s fast and smart. If she feels threatened, she might fight.”
“We’ll round her up,” Peterson commented, shrugging his jacket off and handing it to Tracy. “And you can catch her.”
Both men quickly stripped. The moment they were free of their clothing, they shifted and took off. Ty took his jacket off and held it out to Tracy. She stared at him in worry.
“Maybe you should let her go, Ty,” Tracy said.
Ty shook his head. “You don’t understand, Tracy. She was banished from her clan because of me. She protected me, knowing that she would be cast out. You know as well as I do that she’ll die if she is left out here alone. Winter has just begun and she has no shelter, no food supply, nothing,” he bit out between gritted teeth.
Tracy’s eyes widened in shock before she nodded. “Then bring her home and we’ll give her a new family – one that won’t turn their backs on her,” Tracy agreed, taking his shirt.
“You’re damn right we will,” Ty growled. “Now turn your back.”
Tracy rolled her eyes, but turned around. “I’ve seen you in the buff more times than I can count, brother. We’re shifters. It’s our life.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t care,” Ty muttered.
“Ty…,” Tracy glanced over her shoulder when he didn’t answer. A small, grudging smile curved her lips when she saw the huge grizzly charging through the woods. “Go get her, baby brother.”
Chapter 14
Ella struggled through the snow. Her face ached from the frozen tears on her cheeks. She brushed a snow stiffened glove across her cheek, wincing when the ice encrusted on it cut into her flesh.
The sound of a wolf howling sent a wave of panic through her. Her breath caught and she looked wildly around. The river. If she could somehow get across the river, she could lose them on the other side.
A low sob caught in her throat as the snow grabbed at her legs, slowing her down. She was so close. She could hear the sound of the water.
She stumbled on the rocks, wincing when her bad ankle twisted, and she fell heavily to the ground. If only she had her lance with her. It would help balance her. She climbed to her feet, hissing when her ankle protested.
“No,” Ella whispered when she heard another howl. “No.”
Turning toward the river, she saw the remnants of a newly fallen tree lying partially across it. She limped forward, ignoring the biting pain of the icy water as she waded out far enough to climb up onto the tree and crawled up through the broken branches. She cursed impatiently when the sleeve of her coat was caught on a sharp limb. Pushing herself up, she bit her lip against the pain.
She carefully stepped forward, focusing on each step. There was a thin layer of snow on the trunk. It hurt every time she put her right foot down, but she remained focused on keeping her balance. She kept her arms spread out to the side as she moved a fraction of an inch at a time.
The water was rushing under the center of the tree making it sway dangerously. Her arms pin wheeled when she started to lose her balance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement behind her on the riverbank.
She glanced over her shoulder to get a better look and wished that she hadn’t. Behind her were two large wolves, one the color of night and the other the red of the sun. They stood staring back at her. She drew in a deep, shaking breath when she heard the loud crash of something enormous coming up behind them. A moment later, the massive shape of a grizzly bear emerged from the forest. His head swung around wildly when the two wolves released a series of rumbling growls.
Ella stared back at Ty when he turned his head to look at her. Ever so slowly, he walked toward her. She cautiously turned on the tree. Her feet were numb from the cold and her ankle throbbed, making her clumsy.
“Go away, Ty,” she choked out. “Go away.”
Ty shook his head back and forth in agitation and stepped closer to the bank of the river. He stopped when the tree moved up and down again, almost throwing Ella off. With a snort, he clawed at the ground, turning over several large rocks.
“I… I don’t belong in your world,” she whispered, fresh tears burning her eyes. “Please, just forget about me.”
Ty released a low series of noises that sounded suspiciously like he was arguing with her. A soft giggle escaped Ella. She had never had an argument with a grizzly before. Even as heart-wrenching as the moment was, she couldn’t stop the tender smile from curving her lips.
“Has anyone ever told you that you are hard-headed?” She asked in a husky voice.
Ty released another undignified snort and sat down. He stared at her with dark, pleading eyes. His mouth opened and closed, and his paws waved around as he continued to emit a combination of growls, snorts, snarls, and sneezes before he became very quiet.
Ella’s heart felt like it was breaking in two when he slowly lowered himself to the ground and rested his chin on his front paws. He didn’t make any more noises, he didn’t need to – the look in his eyes said it all. He would not leave her.
“You don’t fight fair,” she said, bowing her head. “I’m scared. I’m scared of going to your world… but I’m more afraid of losing you.” She raised her head and stared back at him. “I don’t know what to do.”
He raised his head and stared back at her. For a few precious seconds, she became lost in his eyes. She could see the soul of Ty and his bear reflected in the depths. He meant what he had said: he would be there for her and protect her, should she need it. The faint memory of her father’s voice echoed through her mind.
No, I think one day we will all live in peace together. I hope you see that day.
I think that day has come, daddy, Ella thought as she drew in a deep, calming breath.
She had a choice; she could run and die or fight and live. One thing she knew for sure, she wouldn’t let her fear of the future and the unknown control her, she would control it. She had never been a quitter and she wasn’t about to start now. Raising her chin, she pressed her lips together in determination as she slowly began to retrace her steps.
Almost immediately, Ty rose to his feet and came forward. Ella cried out when her foot hit an icy spot and she started to fall. She fought to steady herself. Relief flooded her when she made it back to the tangle of the tree top and worked her way back through the branches. Her ankle was throbbing and her feet were so cold that she couldn’t feel them. She winced when she slipped back into the shallow icy water and then waded to shore.
She fell forward against Ty’s massive warm body and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her teeth were chattering from cold and she could feel her strength slipping away. Her feet were so cold she feared she’d never be warm again.
“Ty,” she whispered, closing her eyes as she pressed her face against his furry neck. “I’m so cold.”
“Let me help you,” a man’s voice spoke behind her. “Can you hold onto him?”
Ella turned her head. Her eyes widened in shock to see a man, a naked man, standing behind her. Her eyes flashed to the red-coated wolf on the riverbank watching her. The black wolf was gone. Her head turned back to the man. He had the same light mocha coloring as Mitchell.
“Yes,” she forced out.
“He can carry you,” the man said with a smile. “My name is Peterson. No offense, but I’d like to get you on Ty’s back as quickly as possible. My wolf may like this weather, but I’m freezing my ass off.”
Ella nodded and forced her arms to release Ty. She gasped when she suddenly found herself lifted up and placed on Ty’s back. She pressed her thighs against his side and leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck again. She laid her cheek against the back of his neck and whispered that she was ready. Almost immediately, he turned and began moving with surprising agility and speed across the snow-covered landscape.
Ella glanced up. She could see the flash of red fur running just ahead of them. Turning her head, she saw that Peterson had shifted back into his wolf form. He paused, glancing across the river. For a brief moment, she wondered what he was looking at, but then he jerked and turned to follow when the red wolf suddenly howled. Exhausted, Ella gave up trying to think. Instead, she focused on trying to stay conscious long enough to get back to Ty’s campsite. All she wanted to do was take off her wet, frozen boots and slide into the thick, warm bedding.
*.*.*
On the other side of the river, Jayden stood frozen. The white coat helped to conceal her presence. She had been on her way to check on Ella when she heard the sound of the wolves. Fear had choked her as she ran.
She reached the river just in time to see Ella turn on the trunk of the tree to face the two wolves and the huge grizzly. Her first instinct was to aim her bow and strike at the heart of all three beasts. Their fur and meat would go
a long way toward feeding the village.
The beasts they normally hunted were not shifters. They were small and provided little in the way of food and clothing. Only the deer and elk were large enough. There were two types of beasts, those who could shift and those that could not. In their shifted form, it was hard to tell them apart from the normal beasts, but in their two-legged form it was easy to tell the differences between a shifter and a human by the unusual markings each shifter retained from their beast. Jayden noticed those traits in Ty. It was hard to miss the silver markings at his temple, his slightly broader brow, dense muscular form, and the flecks of silver in his dark eyes.
The human’s most feared the larger shifters since they were the ones who posed the greatest threat. The smaller shifters tended to stay far away from the forests, according to the legends. The elders said that over the centuries, even fewer of the large shifters came deep into the forest unless it was to cut down the ancient trees.
Jayden stood along the river, watching as the black wolf shifted. Her breath caught at the man’s beauty in both of his forms. She had listened to Ella talking to the grizzly beast. Her fear for her sister had almost made her reckless. In the end, it had been wise that she remained silent as she watched Ella struggle back to the bank and throw her arms around the massive bear. Ella was lost to the Others.
Pain tore at Jayden. What had the beast done to her sister to make her return to him? A brief image of the dark-skinned male flashed through Jayden’s mind and she felt an unusual pull. Was there something about them that called to the woman inside her? Was that what had happened to Ella? Whatever it was, Jayden swore she would kill the wolf and his friend if they ever came back into the forest.
“I will use your hide as my winter coat if you try to enchant me,” she whispered, staring at the empty shoreline across from her. “I will wrap it around my body and show you that you have no hold on me.”
She finally turned away. She had her answer now about whether Ella had survived the storm and her time with the beast. It was now time for the clan to disappear into the mountains before the Others came back, looking for more humans.