Chapter 23 - Shawn
I don’t even think; I just chase Jackson straight down the rocky path. It’s extremely narrow, and I have to move carefully, but I’m not giving him the chance to get away.
The old bastard is quicker and tougher than I realized. I’ve underestimated him, and now Sara might have already paid the price.
The thought of her being hurt or in danger sends pain rippling through me, but it just fuels my rage.
Jackson has no fucking clue what he’s dealing with. He’s going to get what’s coming to him for hurting so many people and killing Talon.
The old dog stays ahead of me, obviously leading me somewhere. I know it’s a trap, but I don’t care.
As the ledge narrows even further and curves around the edge of an outcrop, Jackson spins and turns to face me. His lips are peeled back from his teeth, and his ruff is spiked up as he crouches, digging his claws into the ground.
I don’t even slow down, I just launch myself straight at him.
We tumble across the track, rolling against each other as I try for the advantage so I can sink my teeth into his throat. Gravity pulls against me, and I shift back to my human form just in time to grab the ledge. Beside me, I see Jackson do the same.
“You sly old fuck!” I mutter through clenched teeth. “How did you learn to shift so fast?”
Jackson laughs, digging his fingernails into the cracks between stones to give himself purchase on the cliff face. “Always been nimble, you stupid pup,” he growls. “And I put a lot of work into being quick and quiet.”
I try to lunge towards him, but he swings his body away and makes a grab for the path. As he pulls himself up onto the track, I throw my weight in the opposite direction and grab a handhold, clearing the edge just as he comes at me.
Jackson tries to push me over the edge with his momentum, but I spin us around so it’s him with his back to the void. He digs his heels in and shoves back, and for a few seconds, there is nothing but our strength between us as we grapple over the sheer drop.
Suddenly, Jackson shifts, right in my hands, slipping through my fingers like water. In his wolf shape, he leaps past me, bounces off the wall, and hammers into my chest. For the briefest of seconds, I teeter on the edge, then the void claims me, and I start to fall.
Even though I’m pointing straight down, headfirst, I throw my weight back towards the ledge, desperately grabbing for a handhold. My nails tear against the hard, rocky surface as I dig in, bruising my hands as my fingers close around an old tree root.
Jackson’s face appears above me, and he laughs. “You’re like a little tick, you know that? Just clinging on, being a pain in my ass. Hold on a second longer, I’ll find a nice rock the size of your face.”
“Even if you kill me, you won’t get away with this!” I yell.
Jackson grins. “Funny. Sara said the same thing.”
Fear blasts through me, an ice-cold wave that banishes my anger and leaves my mind crystal clear.
“What the fuck have you done to her?”
“Nothing yet. Well, almost nothing. She’s been roughed up a bit, but still in one piece. At least, she was when I left.”
“You bastard!” I yell, swinging my weight to the right so I can shimmy up the ledge. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”
“No, Shawny-boy,” Jackson laughs. “You’re going to die, and I’m going to send your buddies running on a wild goose chase, then I’m going to beat it out of here. Nobody’s going to catch me.”
Rex is going to tear you a new asshole if I don’t get to you first.
Jackson disappears, and I grapple up a bit. Suddenly, a huge rock comes down, forcing me to flatten against the wall as it rockets by.
“Dead yet?” Jackson yells, peeking over. “Damn. Let me find another rock.”
Growling, I swing my body to the left, waiting for the high end of the swing so I can jump for the next handhold. The cliff face is sheer but not smooth, and there are plenty of jagged edges I can grab.
Any idea how many times I’ve free-climbed, asshole? This ridge is a walk in the park compared to others I’ve done just for fun.
Another rock hurtles down, and I swing to the side, dodging it and getting a new hold at the same time. Jackson laughs.
“You’re quick, you know that? Impressive. You aren’t just a farm boy, are you?”
“Why…the fuck…would you think that?” I gasp, jumping up another few feet.
“I don’t know, I just assumed you were from one of the farming communities—local to Rose Hollow or Eccles. But you’re not, are you?”
“Shut the fuck up,” I mutter, swinging up another step closer.
“Nah…you’re some kind of fighter, aren’t you? Maybe military. I knew when I overheard you and your buddies talking, you had to be something else.”
Fuck! He heard us plotting!
Jackson frowns as I get closer, and I can tell he doesn’t know if he should get another rock or wait for me. He ends up standing right on the ledge, ready to kick my face in the second I get close enough.
I put both hands on a decent hold and press the balls of my feet against the cliff face. I test my weight against the holds, getting ready to spring. Jackson kicks some dirt and rocks into my face.
“Come on, motherfucker,” he mutters. “Let’s get this done, I’ve got places to be.”
Yeah, hell. I’ve got a one-way ticket waiting for you.
I test the edges again, then bounce a little on the wall before putting all my strength into a massive spring. I shoot up over the edge, my arms out to tackle Jackson around the waist. He twists in my arms and tries to reverse it, leaving us grappling on the edge.
“Shit,” I growl as the dirt crumbles under my foot.
Both of us start to slide, and I grab a nearby bush as we both swing over the edge. Jackson grabs my foot as we both go over, and I yell with effort as I try to hold the weight of both of us.
Jackson clings to my foot, looking down at the drop. When he looks back up at me, his face is twisted with hatred.
“I’m not going to die up here,” he curses, climbing my leg.
“No, you’re going to die down there!” I yell, kicking as hard as I can.
I try to shake him off, but Jackson wraps his arms around me, climbing up to my hips. The tree shivers, almost pulled out by the roots as it tries to hold our combined weight.
“Fucker!” I growl, getting one leg up to shove him in the chest. Jackson lets go of me, reaching for the nearby ledge, and grabs it, yanking himself back up onto the track.
Without his weight on me, I can swing myself back up easily and hurl myself at him with my fists up. He smashes against the rock wall, pinned by my weight, and I grab his shoulder with one hand, punching him hard with the other.
A terrible rage rises in me, something dark and ugly like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. My vision goes hazy and red, and I start punching the fuck out of Jackson with both hands.
I’ve never known true evil. In my career, I’ve killed. I’ve maimed and fought enemies. But I’ve never known anyone as bad as this psychopath!
Jackson moans, and I’m pretty sure I hear a small giggle.
“Didn’t…think you had it in you,” he gasps.
A great roar rips out of my chest as I punch him again and again. His blood slicks across my fist, and I barely notice the pain in my arms as I beat the living fuck out of Jackson. I don’t come back to myself until I feel a touch on my shoulder.
I swing around, screaming as I launch myself at my enemy. Strong arms grab me, and for a moment, I struggle against the grip.
“Shawn!” Rex yells. “It’s us!”
“Huh?” I mutter, panting desperately as I try to get my breath back. “What took you guys so long?”
“We could hear you, but the path down here is almost impossible to see,” Rex answers. “It doesn’t look like you needed us, anyway.”
“I could have used an assist a few minutes ago,” I snap, wiping my face. “We have to find Sara.”
Rex takes one last look at Jackson’s body, then turns to jog up the path.
“Did you get a confession out of him?” Rex asks.
“Negative,” I yell. “I was too busy kicking his ass.”
“I would have liked some intel,” Rex answers. “Maybe we’ll get something out of his guys. Let’s move!”
He shifts into his wolf shape, and I do the same, both of us nimbly leaping back up to the top of the ridge. Luke, Dan, and Brad are waiting.
“So, you figured it out?” I ask, shifting back. Rex and Brad also take on their human forms as Luke and Dan trot to the edge of the trees.
“Oh, we knew,” Brad says. “We weren’t letting you go off alone; we were tailing you.”
“And all this time I thought I had some privacy with the old dog,” I reply. “We have to find Sara!”
Luke barks, and Brad nods.
“We think we’ve got a scent. We weren’t sure that it was her, so we were waiting for you.”
I don’t even think, I just shift back and put my nose to the wind. Immediately, I catch it. Definitely Sara’s scent, but so thin it has to be far away.
As I take another deep breath, my heart goes cold.
Tinged with copper—blood!
I bolt for the trees, faster than I’ve ever run in my life. I can hear my buddies keeping pace with me, and the great magic of being in a pack floods through me.
There is nothing on this earth like running together as one.
The energy surges in me, and makes me want to howl, but we don’t want to announce ourselves in case the men have orders to kill Sara. With every stride, her scent gets stronger, and so does the metallic hint of blood.
She’s alive, though, I can tell…unless she’s dead, but still warm…
I push myself harder, finding a new level of speed I didn’t know I was capable of.
With quick twitches of my head, I search the surrounding area, looking for a path or track, anything to guide me in the right direction.
As we come to a high platform, I stop and spin around, looking desperately in every direction.
The smell is so thick here…where?
Rex barks, and I turn to look where he’s pointing. On the next ridge, I can see Sara tied to a tree, with Jackson’s goons all over her.
What are they doing to her?
Sara’s scream rings out across the mountains, and I take off so fast, my paws barely touch the ground. I have to swing left back into the forest because following the line of sight down the gulch, then back up to the next ridge, would take too long.
Around me, Rex and the others take up formation, flanking me. We hit the tree line and angle back through the forest, charging straight for the others.
Sara screams again, and I know I don’t have enough time to get there. No matter how fast I run, the guys have more than enough time to kill her.
As I put on another burst of speed, my muscles tighten and threaten to seize up. I stumble, almost fall, and feel my friends’ shoulders, supporting me as I find my stride again. The trees thin out around us, and I can finally see Sara up ahead.
Bruce is in front of her, one hand wrapped around her throat. Rafe and Axe stand on either side of the tree, and despair cracks through me as I realize I’m too late.
I will shred them into tissue paper!
A rough snarl creeps through my teeth as I try to force my body to even greater speed. My eyes stay locked on the scene before me, and then, Sara moves.
I blink against the wind tearing into my face, thinking that I must be hallucinating, but Sara has definitely stepped away from the tree.
But she was tied, wasn’t she?
Sara takes another step forward, and Bruce staggers away from her, falling on his back. A rush of blood stains the wind, enough blood to mean death.
Axe grabs her arm and yanks her towards him. Sara flails with her other hand, finally grabbing onto Axe’s shoulder. He screams, spins away, and hits the ground with a thud.
I’m close enough now to see her expression as she turns on Rafe. He scrambles back, falling on his ass as he tries to get away without taking his eyes off her. Sara throws up her hand and points at him, screaming at the top of her lungs.
Rafe’s scream drowns hers out, and he convulses on the ground. I pull to a stop right over him, watching blood pouring from his nose, mouth, and ears.
He gurgles, then his breath drowns in the wave of blood rushing through his body. I look up at Sara in astonishment, and she blinks, tries to take a step forward, and falls.
I’m in my human shape in less than a second, leaping forward to catch her. I wrap my arms around her waist and slowly lower us to the ground, cradling her in my arms.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here now.”
“Shawn,” she whispers, touching my face. “You’re alright.”
“Yeah. I’m tough. But what the fuck just happened here?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I just…got so scared. Something in me shifted, and the ropes came undone. When I looked at Bruce, it was like fire came out of me…right out of my bones and through my skin.”
Her words scare the fuck out of me, but I just shake my head and stroke her face, kissing her.
“We’re all okay. That’s all that matters, now.”
“I think it was…magic.”
“Magic?” I repeat, nerves boiling in my guts.
After that fucking snake, all magic gives me the creeps.
“Yes. Since we slept together, I’ve felt strange. Like I was aware of something beyond myself. When Bruce closed his fist on my throat, I reached into it and…I’m not even really sure what happened.”
“It’s okay,” I say, stroking her face. “We’ll figure it out. Right now, we just need to get you home.”
“Yes,” she whispers, smiling. “Home. Let’s go home.”
I lean down and kiss her, gently brushing my lips against hers. Joy and gratitude surge in my chest as I realize, after all my years of wandering, I finally have a home.
And it’s right here, in her arms.