I was calling to her, but before the words escaped me there was a cry from the trees. There was a small girl hanging from a branch. I let go of Thor’s collar.

  “STAY!”

  I growled out the command as I darted towards the trees. I heard a commotion behind me, but I didn’t look back. Talia and the bear were still rolling around and snarling at each other. The little girl needed me now, though. Where had the cub gone? Why was there a kid in a tree?

  Oh - oh shit!

  I turned and yelled to Talia, “She’s a shifter!”

  I heard someone bellow out my name as I scrambled up the tree. I was able to grab the little girl’s arm just as her fingers slipped from the tree. My heart was pounding ninety miles an hour. The girl’s tears began to soak my shirt as soon I pressed her against me.

  “Shh, it’s okay. I have you. You’re safe.”

  “Do-on’t lets her tates me no more.”

  My head cocked to the side and a yelp escaped me as the tree I was in shook. I was wide-eyed when the bear Talia had been fighting started up the tree.

  “No, no, no, her bads!” The little one in my arms screamed as the bear made its way up. Talia leapt on her back, digging claws into the hide, her large teeth sinking into the fur and flesh causing the bear to lose its grip. As the bear fell, Talia scrambled over her and into the tree. Her mouth opened wide with a furious warning scream.

  “Someone do something!” I heard shouting from behind us.

  The moment the bear snarled, it’s teeth gleaming in the darkness, something in me snapped. The little one who was curled into me sobbing had me shaking. I flung my hand out and threw the bear back. She slammed into a tree, breaking it in half, and when her body hit the ground she ceased moving. Talia jumped from the tree, her paws landing softly. Three wolves rushed towards the bear, teeth bared.

  I wrapped my arms around the little girl who was clinging to me for dear life and jumped from the tree, landing just as quietly as Talia had.

  6

  Demetrius

  Prince Trenton and Alexander had been talking for a while now. Well, yelling at each was more like it. The rest of us stayed quiet, only supplying answers when asked. The table before us held a detailed map of the castle, the layout on the inside, and the recent changes Alex and I had witnessed ourselves on our last visit. Things were about to get rough. I knew that. We all could feel it. We had a king that ruled with an iron fist when it suited him. He had taken out a few more of The Prince’s guardsmen after his exile.

  This pissed him off more than he already was. The prince pissed was a scary sight to behold.

  Rixon had been able to pull some much needed information from the King’s man before Alex lost his cool and killed him. We all knew it was coming. They had put his daughter in danger, not to mention the rest of us. No big loss there, though. We would find another. Or better yet, they would find us.

  My gaze flicked to the window of the cabin. Each time I looked out I could see Mari from my spot. She’d come out of her cabin a while ago and took up a seat on the rickety looking swing hanging on the porch. The last time I’d looked out, Talia had joined her. I was glad they were getting to know each other. I hated that it was under this kind of stress, but our world was unpredictable on a good day. However, when I looked out this time my gaze was met with an empty swing.

  I moved to the door and slipped onto the porch.

  The men on guard duty turned to me and I nodded at the cabin where I had left Mari.

  “Did she go back inside?” I asked them.

  “No, she and Talia went with the dog up the path.”

  “You send someone with them?”

  “No, Sir. She has the shifter and that giant of a dog with her.” He shrugged slightly. I growled in frustration. I peeked my head back in the door as a curse left me.

  “Joshua, you may want to come with me.”

  I moved off the porch and when he was caught up with me I headed up the path.

  “Where are we going?” he asked as he scanned the area.

  “Seems our girls have gone exploring.”

  “Talia can take care of herself. She has proven that more than once. We have patrols. No one will get close to them.”

  He seemed in control, unworried even, but I saw the tick of his jaw.

  I snorted.

  “I’m not necessarily worried about Talia. Mari, on the other hand, can get into trouble just walking to the bathroom.”

  I shook my head, chuckling. We were up the path a little ways when I head Mari’s voice float closer. She was screaming at her dog.

  “Shit!”

  The yell was followed by the snarl of a wild cat and the unmistakable roar of a much larger animal. By the time we got to the top of the hill, Mari was climbing a tree, Talia was fighting a rather large bear and the dog was barking and snarling from the side lines.

  “Marissa! What the fuck?!”

  “Talia!” Joshua called out to his mate, but she was too busy fighting to notice him.

  We were being held back by an invisible shield or something. It wasn’t Mari doing it. Her powerful shield felt different. Plus, she was too focused on the small child she was holding on to. Her powers may be manifesting, but she wasn’t able to focus on multiple things it right now.

  When Mari acted as if she was coming down from the tree, things escalated quickly. The bear, apparently having enough of the games, went after Mari and the kid. Talia fought it hard, but in the end Mari was the one to stop its forward movements. Her power rolled across us all and knocked a few of the wolves on their knees.

  When the bear’s body slammed into the trees, others started to appear. The barrier was dropped and as the wolves went towards the limp body of the bear, Joshua and I moved to our mates.

  “Mari, what happened? Are you okay?”

  The child she had in her arms screamed as Thor jumped up to sniff her. I pulled him down. “Leave it!” I snarled, my teeth pricking my bottom lip as the big dog sat, still sniffing the air.

  The little girl cried out when I met her gaze. I took a step back, my hands up so she could see them. She started sprouting fur. I wasn’t sure what to do.

  Joshua, on the other hand, did.

  “Easy, little one. We will not hurt you, I swear on the Moon.” His eyes had turned gold, as did the little girl’s. She flung herself at him. He caught her, tucking her into his chest. “Easy, sweet one, easy.”

  I moved to envelope my girl in my arms. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not- I don’t know what happened?” Her words were no more than a sob. I kissed her cheek and held onto her.

  “Shhh, it’s okay.” I tried to soothe her.

  “Natalia, what happened here?!” We turned to see the Prince in full vamp mode. Alexander, who was at his side, had vamped out as well. My brow rose as they made their way to us.

  Talia was still in her panther form. Her panther yowled in protest of his question and paced. Her chest was not moving as it should. Joshua moved to her, the little girl now clinging to his back as he crouched down.

  “Easy, love. Let me see you.” His words were soft and I saw her rub her face against him.

  “Is she okay?” I asked when I turned my attention fully to them.

  “Let me see her,” Sheri called out as she moved through the crowd. She growled out something under her voice. She turned and muttered something again then clapped. The clap of her hands seemed to clean the thickness of the air around us.

  Everyone relaxed.

  Talia, on the other hand, collapsed.

  “Talia!” Joshua moved to hover over her form.

  The Prince, too, was at his daughter's side instantly. His eyes had changed color which meant he was about to lose it.

  “She’s been sliced up by that stupid bear. What was she thinking?!” Sheri muttered, growling more as she looked Talia over.

  “She needs to shift back,” Javi said as he dropped a bag at her side. He scowled and shook his head. “I can’t see the full damage in this form.”

  “Talia, Love, I know it hurts, but I need you to shift back for me, please?” Joshua begged.

  Her body lay there, barely breathing, blood running from her wounds.

  “There is…” Sheri looked around before she continued, “something off here.”

  The little girl, seeing the distress we all saw on Sheri’s face climbed off of Joshua’s back and rested her hands on Talia’s head.

  “I heps her sifs.”

  Within a moment a small light escaped the little one’s hands and Talia was shifting from panther to her two-legged form. The wounds on her side were healing rapidly and everyone - whether they stood or squatted - beside her were looking on with astonishment clear in their expressions. Talia groaned and opened her eyes. The blue in her irises flared as she sat up and shook her head.

  “Holy Moses….”

  Things happened so fast then that even I almost missed them.

  One of the guardsmen that had met us here grabbed the little one up by her arm and growled, “it’s you.”

  His fangs gleamed as he hissed at the girl.

  The guard tried to bite the girl but she screamed and shifted. He had a helluva hard time holding onto a bear cub, but he managed just barely. He took off towards the woods with her.

  He made it two steps before Mari was on him. She had shoved me aside and moved with such speed I almost couldn’t track her. I watched as her fingers dug into his arm and tore it from his flailing body. Her body shook with pure rage as the little bear hit the ground. The little bear scurried away from the snarling vampires.

  Talia joined Mari in the battle, her fangs digging into the flesh of his neck as Mari’s had on the other side. The screams from the guard rang through the trees until he crumpled to the ground, his body limp and lifeless. Both Mari and Talia had changed slightly. Their eyes glowed. Mari’s purple irises and Talia’s bright blue ones flared before they both turned to the little bear.

  The little bear quickly became a girl again. She didn’t move, no one did.

  “Natalia, Marissa,” The Prince said as he took a step towards them. His dark eyes never left them. I moved a step closer as well. I wasn't sure what was about to happen.

  “I’m fine, Daddy.” Talia blinked after speaking. Her eyes started to dim. She took Mari’s hand and her eyes too started to dim as well.

  “What just happened?” The Prince asked. He came to stop only paces from them. Natalia opened her arms and the little girl came to her. She lifted the girl, who immediately clutched her neck.

  “I’m- I’m tired of all of it. Enough is enough. It’s time we fight back.”

  Without another word, she and Mari headed back up the trail. I went to follow after them, as did Joshua, but we were stopped.

  “Let them have a moment.”

  Alexander looked to his brother. The Prince had his hand up to us, but his gaze was locked on his daughter.

  “Sheri,” he said, “could you feel anything?”

  “That’s a very powerful little girl. She’s a healer, but not like any I’ve encountered. Her scent smells of bear, but she’s not fully shifter, not even true healers like Javi and myself can do what she just did. That was… not something I’d seen before.”

  With a nod he moved to trail after the girls, with Alex, Joshua and I, hot on his heels.

  7

  Marissa

  Two days have passed since the big bear incident in the woods.

  And I’m still exhausted.

  The small girl that Talia and I came upon hasn’t said much. Her name is Pyper. Her mother had been taken by a ‘bad vampire’, and the bear that was after her, well, that crazy beast was the King’s doing. She had been spelled to kill hybrids, like us.

  This was such fantastic news, too. I hope the sarcasm came through on that. This was just another chink in the armor.

  We tried to get more information out of Pyper, like where her mom was from, did she have family, the usual, but, it wasn’t happening. It wasn’t for a lack of trying to get the information, though. If any vampire comes close to her - other than Talia and I - she flips out. Full on meltdown, which leads to her shifting and tearing the room up in her attempt to escape.

  It’s beyond nerve wrecking. That poor little girl has been through something traumatic, and I’m afraid whatever that is, we’re going to have to address it head on. I mean, the King already wants us all dead…

  Talia and I finally got Pyper to go outside. She needed fresh air, as did we. I was going stir crazy inside. Though, Thor was a help with that. He had made friends with the little bear. They were cute together. Even though she was dwarfed by him, Thor was infinitely gentle and patient with Pyper.

  Pyper was nervous to be outside. So, the ‘playing’ didn’t really work until Talia shifted to her panther form joining her and Thor in the yard. The three of them ran around, the little bear trying her best to outwit the panther and not get clobbered by the big ass dog. It was comical to say the least.

  “Get her, Pyper! Don’t let that big kitty run from you! You’re a bear, bears are cooler!”

  I laughed as Talia’s panther leapt over a log and Pyper tried to follow her. All that happened was the little ball of fur, with paws too big for her little body, scrambled for a hold, only to lose her balance and topple over. She leapt up and snarled. It was so damn cute. She looked pissed, but she was having a good time.

  I laughed before yelling, “That’s okay, get back up there and get her!”

  The chase was on, then. Thor, all eighty pounds of him, barreled into Talia, who instinctively shifted her stance so she could wrap herself around the big mutt of mine. This kept him from smashing into the ground and her from squishing him. I was all for them playing, but he was just a puppy, I didn’t want my dog hurt.

  Thor’s barking has me grinning, and the moment Talia let him go, he was up and licking all over her face. Her laughter, or what I thought was laughter coming from a panther, filled the clearing. I fell over laughing then, though that quickly turned to a shriek of surprise when twenty pounds of furry bear cub pounced on me.

  The bear shifted to a bouncing little girl. I couldn’t help but laugh again at the funny face she made. She was giggling as she yelled, “I gots you!”

  “You did, and now, I’ll get you!”

  I laughed and started to tickle her belly. The happy little laughs and growls made us all start laughing again. Talia came to save her, though. She pulled the little one to her and pretended to fend me off as I advanced on them both. Even Thor was into it. He kept running around us barking like a crazy loon.

  It was a damn good time.

  We all needed that little bit of happy to endure the chaos we had been dealing with, and that still yet to come.

  Pyper was currently curled up against Talia’s chest, sound asleep. Thor was laying under my feet, sprawled out on the cool boards of the porch. The pooch was as tired as the little bear. Pyper and Thor’s quiet snores were the only noise around us out here. It was nice, yet a little creepy, too.

  I laid my head to the side against the chain holding the swing up and sighed.

  “You okay?”

  Her soft words had me looking to Talia and nodding.

  “Yeah, I’m just- I don’t know. Something has me uneasy. I’m worried about so many things at once, I might just be losing my mind.”

  I was only half joking about that. There were moments when I felt calm and there were moments when it took all I had to not rip someone’s heart out. Talk about a wild ride.

  “This is hard on us all. I miss my home. I miss the lake. I miss the calming trickle of the small creek not far from my cabin. It was one of my favorite spots as a child. Still is today, too,” Talia said with a long sigh.

  “Maybe you can go back soon, since you still have a place. You saw, I kind of blew up my house so… there isn’t anything to go back to.”

  Talia snorted.

  I made a face at her as I spoke, “oh, hush. I was a little testy that day.”

  “That’s not testy, that was pissed off. And with good reason, I might add.”

  “That’s the first time that’s ever- I don’t know what happened. I felt- I don’t know how to explain it. It was- I was heating up on the inside and then boom…”

  “It felt like you were being twisted into a knot while a fire burned through you?” Talia sat up straighter as she spoke, here eyes had taken on the blue hue she got when her shifter was in control. “Pain tore at your gut and it was hard to breathe…”

  “Yes!” I couldn’t have said that better. I hurried to explain, “It wasn’t the first time something weird had happened, mind you. A few weeks ago Dem and I were arguing about Daddy leaving and not being here for my birthday, then something... shook loose, I guess.”

  “What was it?” she asked me. I felt my fangs tingle as I pushed my vampire side back down.

  “We were in the woods, letting Thor chase things. We had been arguing- well to be fair, I was yelling and Dem was just listening to me. He’s good at that. It takes a lot to rattle a Guard, but anyway. I had been trying to calm down, marching off along the path behind the house. He and I had been walking along for a few minutes in complete silence when I felt it. It was as if my body was being ripped in two. Anger and fear flooded me and my head spun. It had done that one other time… after I’d been at the castle… but this was different.”

  “What happened after that?” Talia asked, laying a hand on my balled up fist. I felt calmer with her here. It was an odd sensation but I shrugged it off. I’d have to address and deal with it later.

  “Well, I’m not sure. The next thing I remember is being held down by a shifter, one of my other guards, and Dem while the earth under me moved. Then- I was in the shower. The water around me was turning brown and Dem kept calling my name. My fingers had been cut up while we were in the woods.”

  “How?” I flicked my gaze from her to the cub and shook my head. I didn’t have an answer for her.

  “She tried to dig her way away from us,” Dem’s soft voice curled around me and my gaze went to his. A small smile pulled at my lips.

 

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