“Call Dad.” He pressed my good hand over the makeshift bandage to hold it in place. “Call him, then Shift. Do you understand?”
“Ethan, I’m cut, not stupid.” I had to let go of the towel to dig my phone from my pocket. Fortunately auto-dial made it possible to call my father with the press of only one button. While the electronic tone rang in my ear, my gaze settled on Kaci, whose eyes were wide with mounting horror.
“They’re here for me? Why?” she demanded, her voice shrill with fright, her arms wrapped around her torso.
I frowned, surprised and dismayed all over again by how little she knew about us. “They’re trying to form a Pride, and you can’t have a real Pride without a tabby. But don’t worry. We won’t let them take you.” Or me either, because the consensus was that two tabbies were better than one.
Naked now, Ethan dropped to his hands and knees on the hardwood behind her. And still the phone rang in my ear. “Shit! He’s not answering.”
“Call someone else!” Kaci’s eyes were huge in fear, and she glared at the phone, as if it were the source of all the trouble. “Call one of those other guys. The enforcers.”
“I can’t. They all went out in cat form. No pockets,” I added when she shot me a confused look. But Michael hadn’t gone out at all… I pressed End Call, then auto-dialed my oldest brother. The phone buzzed in my ear.
Then it buzzed on my right. What the hell…?
The phone rang again in my ear—than again somewhere to my right. I whirled around to see Michael’s cell phone vibrating on the counter by the fridge. “Damn it!”
“What?” Kaci backed slowly toward the far corner.
“Michael didn’t take his phone.” Dumbass!
I glanced out the window to find the strays slinking across the yard boldly. And as I watched, a fourth form stepped from the bushes, in human form.
Zeke Radley. Shit!
Ethan moaned behind me and I turned toward the living room. My brother now resembled a bald jaguar, other than the occasional odd bulge where things were still changing and coming together. He was almost through Shifting, but even in cat form he probably couldn’t hold off three toms, and I didn’t stand a chance without claws. I’d have to Shift. And so would Kaci.
Thinking quickly, I redialed my father’s number, then crossed the linoleum toward the terrified young tabby as the phone rang in my ear. I sat in one of the kitchen chairs and pulled her toward me. “Kaci, you have to Shift. We both do.”
“No.” She shook her head vehemently, her hair slapping both of us in the face. “No! I can’t! I don’t ever want to be that again!”
“We have to, hon. We can’t defend ourselves otherwise.”
“We’ll keep calling,” she insisted. “The doors are locked. They can’t get in and we’ll keep calling for help.”
But help wasn’t answering.
“Kaci, locked doors won’t stop them. Dead bolts will slow them down long enough for us to Shift, but they will get in, and we need to be able to defend ourselves. We need canines and claws.”
She shook her head again, not quite as violently this time, but with no less determination. “I can’t do it, Faythe.” Tears stood in her eyes. “I do bad things when I’m a cat. I can’t do it again.”
“Yes you can. You have to. I won’t let anything bad happen.”
“No!” she shouted, spraying me with spittle, then backed toward the table while I wiped my face.
In full cat form now, Ethan growled at me in warning, telling me to hurry.
“Kaci…” I began again, but she was halfway across the living room now, backing away from us both with eyes wide in horror, tears trailing slowly down her flushed cheeks.
“No. I’ll let them kill me before I’ll do that again.”
“You don’t mean that.” Not that it mattered. They weren’t planning to kill her. What they wanted was even worse.
Her face went suddenly calm, and she spoke with an eerie softness. “I won’t Shift, Faythe. You can’t make me.”
She was right about that.
In the backyard, Radley walked behind the three cats, halfway to the cabin now. “Fine.” I ended my call again and held the phone out to her. “Go into my bedroom and lock the door behind you.” I gestured to the room at her back. “Then get in my closet and keep trying to call my father. He’s programmed in as ‘Daddy.’”
“Really?” Her eyes brightened with hope, which nearly broke my heart in spite of the circumstances. “You’re not mad?”
“Of course I’m not mad. Here.” I tossed her the phone and she caught it. “Go!” I didn’t have to say it again.
The bedroom door slammed shut behind her, then metal scraped metal softly as she engaged the lock.
Ethan whined, pacing back and forth in front of the front door now. I had my shirt and bra off in an instant, and my pants followed quickly. I dropped to all fours on the kitchen floor, the faded linoleum cold and smooth against my hands. But I barely had time to feel the November chill coming through the broken window before a familiar, bone-cracking pain chased it away.
My spine bowed and my knees cracked. My shoulders ached, the agony especially acute in my left shoulder, which had been wrenched by a psycho stray the previous summer. My elbows creaked, my ankles lengthened, and my knuckles popped like a series of firecrackers all going off at once.
Muscles slithered into and out of place under my skin, burning beneath my flesh. My fingers curved and shortened, the pressure in my hands almost unbearable. My nails lengthened and hardened into retractable claws, digging into the linoleum before they were even fully formed.
The surface of my tongue rippled with an influx of backward-pointing barbs as my newly sharp teeth pushed up from my gums, my jaw taking on a whole new shape in the midst of the pain. And finally my skin began to itch all over—fur announcing its arrival with the pomp and circumstance appropriate for such a majestic covering of thick, glossy black.
I sat on my haunches, stretching my front paws just in time to hear the first bang of a fist against the front door. “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” Radley shouted, then laughed hysterically. Like I’d never heard that one. Fortunately, the current shape of my jaw prevented me from responding with the line expected of me.
When he got no answer, Radley pounded again, this time with his foot, from the sound of it. Since his lungs evidently lacked the strength, he was going to kick the door in. And we were damn well going to be ready for him.
I padded into the living room next to Ethan, who was sweating adrenaline and excitement, laced with fear. All of which fed my own rage and eagerness—two of the best mental states to be in when forced to fight.
From the bedroom behind me came the faint electronic ringing from my own phone as Kaci tried in vain again to get in touch with my father. Why isn’t he answering his phone?
Radley kicked the door again, and we could do nothing but watch. And wait.
The door rattled in its frame, and his determination grew. Radley kicked over and over again, until finally the door frame splintered, cracking visibly. His next blow sent a long shard of wood flying into the living room as the dead bolt tore free of its home. On the next whack, the door swung open to bang into the wall.
Radley stood in the doorway beaming, clearly not surprised to find us in cat form and ready to fight. “Kill the tom, but try to keep the bitch intact. I’ll find the kitten.”
The moment he stepped into the living room, Ethan was in his face, growling fiercely. But his threat was cut off a millisecond later as one of the cats behind Radley launched himself at my brother. Ethan jumped and they met in midair, jaws snapping, claws flying.
The other two cats approached me slowly, growling in unison. I backed away from them, not quite sure what to do with two at once. I’d never faced a pair of foes, outside of training.
Angry and beyond pissed off, I hissed, and the cat on the left hissed back. Then a dark blur flew across the room and smashed into the cat on the
right. Both forms went down in a heap of black fur. But they were up in an instant, and both turned their attention to Ethan, who’d evidently tossed the flying stray.
Now I only faced one. He pounced, and his teeth sank into the back of my neck. The pressure on my spine was tremendous, but his canines barely penetrated my thick fur. Probably because he’d been told not to kill me.
He shoved my head into the floor. One broad, heavy front paw landed on my face, a black toe pad holding my eye closed. I twisted, and my jaws closed over his ankle. I pulled, growling deep in my throat. He bit harder. Blood ran down my neck. I bit harder, and my teeth hit bone.
He howled, and when his mouth opened, I dropped my grip and backed away, facing off against him again.
A door slammed down the hall, and Radley swore, apparently having no luck in his search for Kaci. So far.
On my right, Ethan had one stray’s foot between his jaws, the other cat pinned to the ground, beneath him. He was holding his own, even with four parallel gashes across his left flank. They weren’t pouring blood, so the injury probably wasn’t grave. But it couldn’t have felt good.
My opponent charged again. I met him with a pawful of unsheathed claws, aiming for his chest. He anticipated my move and twisted away. My blow only glanced him.
Across the room, Radley had discovered the locked door. Abandoning my furred opponent, I pounced on Radley, knocking him to the floor in front of the couch. I growled, my muzzle inches from his nose. But before I could decide whether or not to kill him—it wouldn’t be self-defense since he was no real threat to me in human form—something hit me from the side, throwing me into the coffee table.
I used my momentum to roll over, regaining my feet smoothly. But the stray was already there. He swiped at me, and fire ripped across my right front leg, just beneath my shoulder. My howl of pain almost covered the splinter of breaking wood. Almost, but not quite. Radley had gotten into my room.
He shoved the door open. The stray’s teeth snapped shut an inch from my muzzle. Radley raced into the bedroom. I slapped the stray away with one paw. Two lines of bright red opened across his nose. He hissed and backed away.
Behind me, Radley bellowed in frustration and rage. I turned to see him standing in the middle of my bedroom, staring out the window. The open window.
Kaci had run.
Thirty-Three
“She took off!” Radley shouted. An instant later the stray pounced on me from behind, driving me to the floor as Radley’s steps drew closer. “I’m going after her. Kill the tom, knock the bitch out, then Shift and bring her back with you. Now! We don’t have all day!”
The stray pinning me to the hardwood whined in acknowledgment. I couldn’t see Radley, but his footsteps stomped toward me, then into sight, heading for the porch. And beyond him, I saw something moving through the open front door: Kaci—speeding across the grass toward the trees.
“There she goes!” Radley ran after his prize, still shouting as he raced down the steps. “Get done here and catch up.”
Right. Like it would be that easy. Like we’d let it be that easy.
On my right, Ethan snarled, and I twisted to see him pinned by one cat. But he had the other stray’s ear in his mouth, and as I wriggled to wedge one paw between myself and the bastard on top of me, Ethan wrenched his head, ripping his opponent’s ear from its skull.
The injured cat screeched and backpedaled. Blood poured from the hole in his head, and one paw slid out from under him, smearing it across the floor.
Disgusted, I shoved with the paw I’d forced into place. My foe flew back, but his claws sank into my flesh as he went. I howled as pain sliced across my back and blood ran down my fur.
I leapt to my feet, ignoring the sting in my back and my front leg. He hissed. I pounced, anger and fear for Kaci taking over where my training left off. My front paws slammed into his right shoulder. He hit the floor on his left side, and my weight drove the breath from his body.
My back claws sank into his right flank, slicing viciously before I could get squeamish. Muscle tore. The cat screeched. Blood poured from the wound, drenching my feet, and steaming in the frigid air let in by the open door.
I sucked in a deep breath, steeling myself to rip out his throat. But Ethan’s almost-human scream of pain stopped me cold.
I froze, and my opponent tossed me off. I hissed and swiped at him, and he backed away, snarling ferociously. Behind him, Ethan lay on the ground.
The half-earless stray stood over him. Blood pooled beneath Ethan. His eyes blinked almost as slowly as his chest rose and fell. Three long gashes were open on the left side of his rib cage.
My heart beat hard enough to bruise my sternum. I roared in fear and in fury. The earless stray hissed and stepped closer. I snarled at him, but my eyes never left Ethan. I couldn’t get to him. And even if I could, there was nothing I could do for him. Not without hands. And a medical degree.
Ethan blinked at me and whined.
All three strays blocked the door, watching me, now that my brother was no longer a threat. Radley’s order replayed in my head. They would knock me out now—probably by clamping jaws over my throat—then Shift and drag me off. I couldn’t let that happen.
I took another step back, and the strays followed. My claws scratched grooves into the hardwood. My pulse raced fast enough to make my head swim.
Ethan whined again. My gaze flicked to him. His head was moving, his muzzle sliding across the floor slowly, aiming at the door.
What? But before I could figure out what he wanted, a fourth black blur shot through the open doorway, colliding full force with the stray in the center. The stray went down, the new cat’s jaws clamped over the back of his skull. The downed cat snarled, but his anger was cut off with a whine, then the crunch of breaking bone. The new arrival had broken his neck with a single bite.
The victor stood over his victim’s body and roared in triumph. He blinked, and his eyes met mine.
Marc.
My heart pounded, my head swimming with more questions than I could sort out. But Marc was already in action again, backing the remaining strays away from both Ethan and the door. I came forward to help him, limping from my injury, but he growled at me and shook his head.
I tilted mine in confusion, and he tossed his muzzle toward the door. Go, he’d said, and suddenly I understood. He wanted me to go after Kaci.
My muscles tensed, preparing to leap. Agony lanced my injured front leg, echoing in the slash marks across my back. I hunched on all fours—then launched myself over Marc.
I landed four feet from the door, legs in motion before I hit the ground. But my back paw slid in a warm, slick puddle, and I scrambled for traction. I dashed over the threshold and across the porch, then soared over the steps. My feet hit the brittle grass at a full-out run, in spite of the pain in my leg and the grisly ripping sensation in my back.
Behind me, Marc yelped, and paws pounded the ground. I slowed for a glance back, just long enough to realize it wasn’t him following me. But I kept going because Marc could take care of himself and Ethan, and based on the snarls and growls coming from the cabin, he was doing just that.
So I ran. I broke through the foliage at the spot I’d last seen Kaci, sniffing the air regularly as I ran, searching for any sign of her. Or Radley.
Trees flew by. Thorns snagged in my fur. My paws sank in piles of pine needles and bruised against stones. Movement snagged my eye ahead—a green T-shirt, brilliant against the drab colors.
Radley was wearing green.
Adrenaline fueled a fresh burst of speed, and the huffing and chuffing behind me faded. The spot of green veered left. I followed, gaining on him steadily. I was hurt, but he was on two legs, and I was damn fast. He couldn’t outrun me.
Unfortunately, he wouldn’t have to.
Kaci screamed, and the green shirt stopped moving. I skidded to a halt in a small clearing flooded with morning sunlight. Leaves swung in the cold wind. A pinecone crunched beneath
my left rear paw. Then Zeke Radley turned to face me at the edge of the clearing, Kaci clutched to his chest by her upper arms.
I growled. Let her go. But we all knew he wouldn’t, even if he’d understood.
Behind me, four-legged footsteps thudded, then slid to a stop. Radley’s backup had arrived.
“If you want to help her, come peacefully.” Radley smiled as he spoke, as if I should have been grateful for the invitation.
I snarled. Fuck you. I think that one came through loud and clear, in spite of the language barrier.
He frowned, and glanced at the cat behind me. “Take her.”
Something slammed into my left flank. I hit the ground beneath the stray. But we both froze as an unholy snarl ripped through the air from somewhere to the east. Somewhere close.
All heads swiveled as a huge wall of thorny shrubs shook to the left. The roar of fury came again, and my ears pinpointed it at least seven feet off the ground. No werecat was that tall. Not on four legs.
The shrubs shook harder. The roar deepened, ringing in my ears and pinging through my brain. Then the greenery parted. An entire eight-foot shrub uprooted itself from the ground, roots dangling a foot in the air.
The bush flew across the clearing, and all eyes followed it. My gaze flicked back to the gap in the vegetation to find it completely filled—by a seven-foot grizzly bear, nostrils wide in fury, dark brown fur tangled around twigs and briars.
Keller.
Fur stood on end all over my body, and I knew from the sudden stench of fear in the clearing that I wasn’t the only one about to piss my…um…pelt.
More foliage rustled on my right, and a new cat leapt into the clearing—another of Radley’s toms coming to his aid. But the cat froze with one look at the angry bear and began backing slowly in the direction he’d come from.