Waking the Bear (Shifter Wars) (17 page)

No! Amy!

He couldn’t allow Evers to take her. Griff ran around the side of the car and tried to find a place to climb the slope. His friends were at his heels, but none of them could get close enough to help. Rocks rolled, landing on the car and all around it and the muddy clumps of earth followed.

The ledge above Evers and Amy gave way and started tumbling down the embankment right as Evers pulled her away and into the forest. Griff couldn’t follow with the rocks pounding down on them. A second later, half the hillside came tumbling down in a massive slide, burying Amy’s car up to the door handles in rock and mud.

Griff’s heart thumped. Evers had taken Amy into the forest.

Oh, gods!

Chapter Seventeen

“Let’s go.” Evers pulled Amy’s arm.

Amy tried to move but her legs ached from the whack across her calves.
Bastard.
If she could reach his hair she’d give him a yank, or better yet, a punch in the naked nuts. He held her arm tight and tugged her along.

A few pebbles showered onto her back and she leaned on him for stability. He hurried them farther away. The rockslide had barely missed them, and now Evers was taking her deeper into the woods. She might not ever come out. She was afraid to disobey him. Where was Griff?
I need you, Griff. Where are you?

“Griff isn’t coming for you.”

“How do you know?” She winced as she took a step. “He’ll come looking for me. I know he will.”

“Because I killed him. Broke into the cabin and shot him in the head while he slept. Then I came for you.”

“No!”
No.
That wasn’t possible. She’d felt Griff’s presence at the car, somehow. He wasn’t dead. “You’re lying.”

He tightened his grip. “Let’s move.”

“What are you going to do with me?” Fear tried to take over and she fought it with every breath. If she was afraid, she might lose any chance that came for her to escape.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Now hurry up before the bears catch us.” He shoved her forward. “Unless you want to be eaten by bears?”

What was it with all the bears? More wild animals around than in the zoo and they all seemed to gather around her. What had happened to Evers back there? Had he turned into a...lion? That wasn’t possible. People didn’t turn into animals. She was hallucinating.

The only thing she knew was true was that there was a lion and a bunch of bears and no Griff. And Evers was naked.
Ugh.

“Where are we going?” she asked. “My legs hurt. I can’t walk far.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Evers limped a bit. “You shouldn’t have tried to run, beautiful. Just keep moving.” He groaned as he tried to walk, almost falling.

“What happened to your foot?”

He shoved her forward again. “A rock. It’s fine. Don’t act like you care because I know you don’t.”

“Fine.” She limped through the tall grass and wet leaves in the deep forest. Here, the rain was quieter. More like background noise. Her head spun. Her right leg was definitely swelling. She dragged it as they walked.

They’d walked for maybe fifteen minutes in silence when Amy’s leg throbbed so painfully she collapsed onto the ground.

“Get up.” Evers stood over her.

“I can’t. My leg.”

He kicked her leg. “That one?”

She doubled over, tears streaming down her face. “Oh my god,” she cried. “Why are you so mean?”

“You’re the one that didn’t want anything to do with me. Remember? I was going to do something for you, but you didn’t want me.”

“I didn’t do anything to you.”

Evers scowled and held his foot off the ground. “You’re Griff’s girl. Once I found that out, that’s enough of a reason to hate you.”

“What did Griff ever do to you? He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

Evers shook his head. “He’s got you fooled. He’s a killer.”

“Griff would never kill anyone.” Amy rubbed her leg. “You’re insane.”

Evers sat on the ground beside her. He cringed as he positioned his foot. If only she could run, she might be able to escape. Her leg was hurting probably as much as his foot was, if not more. Too bad they couldn’t have found some sort of shelter from the weather before collapsing.

“He killed my parents.” Evers picked at a wet leaf. “A long time ago. I haven’t forgotten. I made a promise that day that I’d hunt him down and take something he loved away if possible. Or just kill him if not.” He shrugged. “So, guess what? You’re it.”

“No.” She flinched. “He didn’t kill your parents. He was out in the woods when the car wrecked. Your mother was already dead and your father was dying.”

“He told you that?” Evers scowled.

“Yes. He wanted to tell you what happened that day, but you’ve never given him the chance.”

Lightning lit up the forest. The rain had lessened, but still came down at a steady rate. Amy trembled in the chill. Springtime wasn’t feeling much like spring.

Evers fisted his hands. “Griff lied to you and you believe him. I don’t know why everyone takes his word. He killed my parents. He’ll pay for it. You’ll pay for it, too.”

“I thought you said you already killed him?” Amy smirked and tried not to look at him.

The punch came quickly and Amy felt her nose crack then blackness descended over her vision.

* * *

The rain slammed into his back and head with relentless precision, and Griff was certain it was trying to stop him from getting to Amy, but he didn’t care. He ran. He’d find her.

His mate.

If the lion pride found her before he did—he couldn’t think about that. His stomach clenched. It was bad enough she was with Evers, but if the rest of the Sen Pal was waiting on him to bring her to them, he might never see her again. He and his den-mates fanned out around the vestiges of the rockslide and into the forest. He knew this area well. No way Evers knew it as well as he did and that should work to his advantage.

Good thing, since nothing else seemed to be.

When he’d last seen them, Evers had Amy by the arm, dragging her. Both looked injured. Even if she got away, she wouldn’t have a chance alone in the woods overnight. Getting lost in the forest was not only possible, but almost a certainty.

He sniffed the air. The rain made it difficult to pick up anything besides mud and water. In fact, he smelled no humans at all. No sign of her, no scent of Evers, either. The other bears growled their frustration at not finding her. Evers wasn’t perfect. He had to have left some clues as they tromped through the forest. He was in human form, after all, and injured. No smells of rage or fear permeated the rainy day.

Griff ran. Straight into the heart of the forest, where the trees grew close together in a knot of darkness.

Where hiding was possible and dangers were definite.

They didn’t have enough bears out looking for Amy. Elijah wasn’t there. God help them if they found the lions now. If they chose now to attack, they’d find the bears so spread out, they might have a chance at defeating them. He’d called away a couple of the guardians of the Cave of Whispers. Elijah was going to be pissed if he found out or if things went wrong.

Things couldn’t go wrong. They wouldn’t. The rain picked up, slamming fat drops onto his head and making his headache worse. He growled and ran faster.

Griff headed down the remains of a winding trail into the deep woods. She’d headed this general direction, but tracking her wasn’t easy. Lightning flashed. Once, twice, three times in rapid succession. The storm was overhead and boiling dark clouds filled the sky.

Yep.
Thunder rolled almost immediately, vibrating the ground as the clouds collided. This was not the night to be out in, much less searching for someone in the woods.

The forest, deep green and laden with rainfall, closed in on him. More trees, more plants, more places to get lost. Large ferns sprouted from the ground like geysers and tree roots crossed the path in a jumble of knots and entanglements. All the animals had taken shelter and the place felt barren and lonely.

He knew his way. If he kept going straight, he’d come to the same stream that ran behind his cabin, though much farther west of it. A quarter mile in the opposite direction, and he’d be near his ranger cabin.

He never got lost, but Evers might. Amy would. No telling what the lions knew about the landscape? They’d certainly been all over the area during the winter.

Amy...
He turned, listening for her over the rain. Where was she? She had to be close. She and Evers hadn’t gotten much of a head start on them and they were running on two legs instead of four.

The thought of Evers’s hand grasping Amy’s arm so firmly pushed Griff on. Anger bubbled in his stomach beside the worry for her well-being. He wasn’t only mad at Evers, he was mad at himself. He never should’ve gone to sleep at the cabin. Not without his arms tightly around his mate or a stern warning to her to stay put. And a locked door.

He should’ve never let this happen. Maybe he wasn’t capable of keeping his mate safe.

He kept moving along the small path snaking through the growth. The trail had all but disappeared. Surely, in human form, Evers had come this way. It would be too difficult to climb the fallen trees and go through the underbrush of the wild forest. Amy had to be around this area somewhere. He stopped and scanned the small meadow ahead of him. Lightning flashed as he panned.

He saw her.

She lay on the ground, not moving, her arms splayed apart, her blond hair fanned around her head. Was she dead?

A large lump lodged in his throat and he swallowed against it.

He ran to her.

Her face was covered in blood and her nose was obviously broken. What the hell happened? He sensed she was breathing, but barely. Rage boiled up from his stomach and came out his mouth as a loud growl, his claws extending to full length as he rose up on his hind legs.

Where was Evers? He scanned the area, seeing only forest and a few downed trees.

A growl came from the underbrush. The sound seemed far away and near at the same time, as if it came from between the raindrops.

Where are you, Evers?

Find me.

I’ll find you. I’ll kill you.

The lion leapt out from the underbrush, his tawny coat bloodstained, his maw dripping foam. He growled, showing his teeth.
Not if I kill you first.

Griff took a swipe at him, but the lion took a leap backward, then turned and crouched. He pounced, landing on Griff’s shoulders, dragging his claws along his fur and tearing into the tender skin underneath.

Griff’s shoulders burned where he’d been sliced and he reared up again to sling Evers off. The lion landed hard and slid a few feet in the wet leaves. He hissed as he got to his paws.

Meet me man to man.
Evers punctuated his words with a growl.
We’ll finish this on a more even playing field.

You first.
Perhaps Griff held an advantage in size being a bear, but Evers was much quicker. In human form, they’d be well matched. Neither would be able to run away, either—not that Griff would ever run from a fight. Especially when his mate’s life was at stake.

Evers padded backward and shifted, his body morphing to naked human in just a few seconds. Griff followed, letting himself slip into human form, the burn of muscle and bone changing offset by trying to watch Evers for a sneak attack.

“That’s better.” Evers raised his fists. “I prefer to see your face when you die.”

“I don’t care how we fight.” Griff clenched his fists and teeth, trying to contain the red rage that flooded his vision. “I’ll win.”

“You better do it quickly if you want to save your girlfriend. Looks like she needs some medical attention.”

Griff punched, his blow glancing off Evers’s cheek. Evers swung back but Griff ducked.

“I’ll take her off your hands.” Evers huffed as he moved forward in a feint. “I don’t know what she sees in a bear like you.”

Griff bent and tackled Evers, knocking the breath out of him as he struck.

“Ooof.” Evers’s back hit the ground. He tried to roll away but Griff held him down.

Griff lay on him, his hands on Evers’s throat, his bare legs holding Evers’s lower half down. He squeezed Evers’s throat. Evers coughed and shook his head free, pulling at Griff’s hair.

Griff’s eyes watered. He rose up and kneed Evers between the legs as hard as he could. Evers cried out and doubled over on the ground. Griff didn’t let him go, but pinned his arms.

Anger consumed Griff, fueling his need to destroy the man who’d hurt his mate. Somewhere, deep in his mind, he heard Elijah warning him to control his anger, but the voice was so faint. Evers was under him, weak and pathetic. He’d hurt Amy. Elijah had paid with an eye for scuffling with Evers. Evers was a bad man who would never change. It didn’t matter how much they tried. The man was evil and deserved to die.

Evers tried to shove Griff off. “You killed my parents!”

“I did not! Your mother was already dead when I came upon the accident. I tried to save your father. Even though I knew he was a lion. I even carried him to the Cave of Whispers. Do you know how hard that was for a scrawny teenager? He was injured too badly to be helped.” Griff pressed down on Evers’s shoulders, his thumbs near his windpipe. He had Evers under him and he was not letting him go. “I’m sorry he died. I tried to save him. The bears buried your mother there, too. Out of respect.”

“You killed them.” Evers’s face contorted as the air began to be forced from his throat. “I’m going to take your girlfriend to make up for it. And she won’t die an easy death.” The last sentence came out as a gurgle as Griff held his neck tightly.

Griff saw red again. He grabbed Evers by the hair and began slamming his head against a rock on the ground. Again and again.
Amy.
You hurt Amy and you’re not getting the chance to hurt her again
.
Ever.

Evers relaxed as blood flowed from the back of his head. Griff kept pounding.

All the years he’d worried about Evers. The fear he’d had after seeing what Evers did to Elijah. The rain washed it all away. Evers wasn’t going to hurt anyone again.

Griff sat back on his heels and wiped his face. A weight that had sat on his soul for many years was gone. Yet he didn’t feel any lighter.

“Oh my gods, Griff, did you kill him?” Powell ran up to him. “Oh my gods.”

Griff stared up at Powell. He blinked the rain out of his eyes and looked around. “Where’ve you been?”

“We circled around the side way and grabbed our clothes. Figured you had things under control for the moment. Here’s your stuff.” He tossed Griff a bag. “Oh my gods. What have you done?”

Griff looked down. He felt the blood drain from his face. “I killed him.”

“Oh, no.” Powell bent to check Evers. “Yeah, he’s dead all right.”