Chapter 16
After Indio got Reagan into the trailer, he hustled to help clear the fairgrounds of humans, assisting his family and fellow shifters to evacuate the area in case shit hit the fan. Which it certainly seemed to be.
He hated leaving Reagan in the trailer, but that was what their people did. The trailers were rigged with weights and made to withstand high winds and bad storms. It was really the safest place for her.
Except he wasn’t there to keep her safe.
And his elephant was furious.
“That’s everyone,” Darien, one of the wolves, said. “We’re all clear of patrons.”
Indio watched the last car as it careened out of the parking lot, hurrying away from the dark storm headed their way. Even the night sky looked darker than it should have, the storm obscuring the clouds.
The police cruisers left, following the last human out of the parking lot after being told by the circus staff that they had things under control.
And he sure as hell hoped they did.
“I’m heading to the big top,” Indio said. “Reagan’s in my trailer.”
“Good, my family’s in ours,” Percy said, shielding his eyes from the downpour. “I hope this storm passes fast.”
Indio clapped him on the shoulder. “Me too. Be safe.”
“You too.”
They parted ways and Indio raced to the big top. He found his dad and his two male cousins hauling heavy ropes to anchor the large tent. Tarps whipped against the storm, poles rattled. His elephant was anxious about Reagan, but he was focused on keeping his people safe.
She’s safe. She’s in the trailer.
“Reinforce the lines!” his dad yelled. A crack of thunder so loud that it sounded like it was right next to them made Indio jump, his skin tingling like electricity.
“Shit, that was close,” Rob said.
Indio, Rob, and Joe grabbed the lines and secured them with big stakes in the ground. The rain was falling in sheets now, soaking everything and making puddles form immediately.
They moved with his dad to the next task: securing the booths by tying the wooden structures together and lashing them with ropes to stakes in the now-soaked ground.
The storm swiftly grew worse. Thunder and lightning rolled, and he heard the creaking of the trailers as the wind buffeted them.
Lightning struck nearby and he straightened, peering in that direction. Had it struck something? He turned his attention back to his task of strapping a booth down, when his whole world tilted.
A sudden, stabbing sensation in his chest struck, making him feel warm and cold at the same time.
He felt his connection to Reagan flare, and fear surged inside him like a wave.
“You okay?” Joe yelled over the roar of the wind.
“I…” He rubbed his chest. Fear. Cold. Dread. Shit .
He dropped the strap. “Reagan needs me!” He raced away, his boots slipping on the mud.
Lightning illuminated the area behind the booths and tents where the trailers were, and his heart stopped. The trailer he and Reagan had stayed in wasn’t upright anymore. It was sideways, lying against another, one side crushed.
“Reagan!” He bellowed her name and made his way through the debris to the trailer.
Was she still in there? Was she okay? He grabbed the edge of the trailer to haul himself up to the door and get inside, when his elephant trumpeted in his head, urging him away from the trailer and into the woods.
He let go of his hold on the trailer and moved toward the woods.
He tapped into his elephant, accessing his enhanced strength and other senses.
He couldn’t see anything through the rain, or hear anything over the rolling thunder, but he could feel her.
“Reagan! Reagan!”
He faintly heard her in between thunder booms.
Heart hammering, he slipped and slid through the mud as he climbed over downed trees. He used his phone’s flashlight to illuminate the area, and that’s when he finally saw her strawberry blond hair, under a fallen tree.
He lurched forward, crashing to his knees next to her. “Sweetheart!”
“I knew you’d find me,” she said, her eyes wide with relief. “I knew it.”
He pressed his forehead gently to hers. “I’ll always find you.”
Leaning back, he looked at the mass of branches and the struck-by-lightning trunk that was across her thighs. “Shit. Can you move your legs?”
“Yeah, but I can’t get out from under it.”
He grasped the branches and shoved upward, but they didn’t budge. He cast his flashlight beam over the tree and saw the split truck across her legs was massive.
Was the storm getting worse? Another crack of thunder answered him.
He needed to get her free right now.
Putting his phone in his pocket, he focused on the trunk and called for his elephant again.
Bracing under the trunk, he pushed up, his muscles screaming as he lifted.
“Come on, you fucker,” he said, grinding his teeth together.
With a roar born of something feral, he lifted the tree enough to make room for her to get free.
“Go, go, go!” he yelled.
She dragged herself free of the trunk and then he dropped it in relief. Thunder cracked like a bomb overhead, and another lightning bolt slammed into a nearby tree. As sparks flew, he saw the tree falling toward them.
Instinct took over.
He threw himself over Reagan, wrapping her in his arms as the top part of the tall, old tree crashed down. Pain exploded across his back as heavy limbs struck him. The impact drove him into the mud, his body bowing over Reagan’s. For one awful moment, all he could hear was his pounding heart.
“Indio!” Reagan yelled.
“Damn it,” he ground out. “I’m okay. You’re what matters.”
He pushed up, ignoring the pain in his back, and forced himself higher until she could get out from under him. Then he let out a guttural shout and threw the branches off himself. As the rain washed down his arms, he dropped to his knees and scooped her up into his arms.
She looped her arms around his neck and he rose to his feet, calling on every ounce of strength his elephant could give him without shifting.
He turned and made his way back to the fairground as the storm raged, trying not to lose his footing in the mud and muck. Each step jarred his aching back, but he tightened his hold on his mate and pushed on.
“Indio!” his dad called, rushing to meet him. “We’re in the supply tent!”
His dad lent his strength to Indio and the three of them made their way to the tent that was anchored between two of the transport trucks. His dad held open the door flap and Indio ducked inside, where he found his mom, his cousins, and a few others, all drenched and huddled together.
“Oh! Are you two okay? You’re bleeding!” Amara said.
Indio set Reagan on a wooden crate and groaned when he tried to straighten. “She was trapped. I was attacked by a tree.”
His mom found another blanket from a crate and wrapped it around Reagan’s shoulders. Indio knelt next to Reagan and took her hands. “Baby, are you okay?”
She gazed at him quietly with luminous eyes, and then nearly fell off the crate reaching for him. “You could have died!”
“So could you,” he pointed out, steadying her.
Outside, thunder rumbled, but it seemed to be finally moving away, the worst of the storm passing. He held Reagan close, damn thankful she was safe.
Another hour passed before the storm was over.
Reagan was leaning against him, lost in thought.
And he was too. He kept replaying how he’d taken her to the trailer, assuming she’d be safest there.
Instead, she’d only avoided being gravely hurt because she fled.
And even then she hadn’t really been safe.
His dad cleared his throat and Indio looked at him. “I checked the radar and the storm is moving fast away from us. The rain should stop in the next hour or so. The storm tested us and it’s time to check on our people and see the damage.”
Indio kissed the top of Reagan’s head. “Do you want to come with me or stay here?”
She moved slowly, tilting her head to look at him. “I’ll come with you.”
“If you’re sure.” He stood and she held out her hand and he pulled her to her feet. She groaned softly, and he worried she was more hurt than she was letting on. His own wounds were healing thanks to his shifter nature, but she didn’t have that luxury.
“Deneeta will be out and about helping people,” Amara said, referring to the memory’s healer. “Make sure you both get checked out.”
“We will, Mom, thanks.”
His parents and cousins headed out of the supply tent, leaving Indio and Reagan alone.
He brought her close and hugged her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m just sore. And still kind of freaked out. How about you? There’s blood on your shirt from where that tree attacked you.”
He chuckled. “I heal fast. I’m worried about you.”
She just stared at him for a moment, and then she said, “I was so scared. But I remembered what your mom said about soulmates being connected, and I just tried to touch that part of me that’s connected to you. I knew you’d come for me.”
“Always.” He gazed down at her, his sweet, precious mate. “I’m sorry that the trailer wasn’t safe. They’re supposed to be able to withstand high winds without toppling over, but clearly this storm was above what they could tolerate.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said.
“I should have kept you with me.”
“Well, you can keep me with you from now on, okay? No matter the storms, you and me are stuck like glue.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave a decisive nod.
He kissed her. “You got it.”