Chapter Ten
Satyr in Paradise Woods
Bryon practically forgot he was injured for a moment.
He rushed forward so fast, he’d covered more than twenty feet by the time he registered the pain flaring in his foot.
He slowed down, so beside himself with excitement that he found it hard to focus on the sensation.
Finally, after hours of trudging through the woods, he’d found it.
He’d found the foal.
He could hear Miranda struggling to keep up behind him. His heart hammering with each second, he stumbled over rocks and roots, headed straight in the direction of the animal’s cry.
It’s still alive. His chest expanded with relief.
The foal came into view in mere seconds.
It lay on its side, its hind leg caught in a small metal contraption.
A trap, Bryon realized, noting the serrated edges that had sunk into the creature’s flesh.
It wasn’t bleeding too profusely, but it was definitely in pain, lifting and dropping its head with each cry.
His relief was immediately replaced with bubbling annoyance. His jaw clenching, he dropped to his knees, scowling at the metal trap before him.
Miranda appeared next to him then, dropping into a crouch. “Oh, my God. It looks really injured.”
“Yes.” He tried not to let annoyance seep into his tone as he gestured at the trap. “And it’s because of humans.”
The foal looked up at Miranda and then at Bryon, its big, brown eyes filled with terror, and he felt a tug in his gut.
This foal hadn’t gotten injured because it had fallen into a ditch or been attacked by a larger animal.
No, some human had left a trap here for this very purpose.
Bryon expelled a breath. He wanted to find the guy responsible for this and give him a piece of his mind. Preferably with his fists.
“I...” Miranda looked like she wanted to argue, but immediately seemed to think the better of it. “You’re right.”
“People like me—shifters, animal rescuers—we exist to protect animals and even other supernaturals from the cruelty of your kind. All you humans do is destroy.”
A hurt look flickered across her face. Bryon didn’t mean to rope her into his accusations, but right now, he was too angry to care about the nuances of human cruelty.
Whoever had set this trap clearly hadn’t the faintest concept of mercy.
Another thought pricked the back of his mind as he stared at the foal: what if the glass shard that had led to his injury had been left there on purpose by a human? It was definitely typical of them.
“I’m... I’m really sorry, Bryon,” Miranda said softly. She reached out to touch him, and he felt a twinge of disappointment when she dropped her hand midair and cleared her throat. “Let’s get this little guy out of this trap first. I’ll bandage its leg, and we can head out of the woods.”
He gave an almost imperceptible nod, reaching for the metal trap. No sooner had he touched it than the foal began struggling, crying out in pain as it made a frenzied attempt to get away from a perceived new threat.
“Help me,” Bryon grunted. “If it keeps struggling, it’s only going to hurt itself some more.”
Miranda moved forward, holding the animal in place with both hands as he pried the trap open. She pulled the foal free, immediately cradling it to her chest.
“It’s okay,” she cooed, stroking its flank. “You’re safe.”
Bryon held the trap up to his face, frowning at it for a moment, then tucked it at the base of the nearest tree where it would be impossible for another creature to step on it. He turned to face Miranda as she set the foal down on the ground.
“Hold still,” she said to the animal.
As he watched, she tugged hard on her pajama sleeve, ripping it off after a few attempts, then wrapped it tightly around the foal’s leg, covering its injury.
“I’m not sure if first aid for animals is the same as ours,” she said without looking at Bryon, “but I’m hoping this should do for now.”
The foal seemed to have calmed down. Its injured leg twitched slightly, but it wasn’t crying in pain anymore.
“Thank you,” Bryon said to Miranda. “For everything. I couldn’t have rescued this animal without you.”
She simply smiled at him, and he felt a warmth spread through his chest. He would have continued kneeling there, staring at her like some idiot, if she hadn’t spoken up then.
“We should get going,” she said. “We’ve rescued the foal. Now it’s time to get out of these woods.”
Bryon nodded, rising to his feet with little difficulty, his heart beating a little faster as she rose with him. He managed to tear his gaze off her lips. “Sounds like a plan. We could—”
“Not so fast,” said a voice.
Both he and Miranda spun at the sound. Someone was walking right toward them. Within seconds, the newcomer appeared, stepping out from behind a tree. He glanced at Miranda, then at Bryon, and back at her.
“Well, well.” His lips curved into a triumphant grin. “I told you it was pointless trying to get away from me, didn’t I?”
***
Miranda’s world was spinning.
Just moments ago, she’d been overcome with emotion as she wrapped a makeshift bandage around the foal’s injured leg.
The sight of the little creature, safer now than it had been stuck in that trap, had been heartwarming, to say the least. And then there was the way Bryon had looked at her afterward, like she was the only woman in the world.
Or had she imagined that? Either way, it had left her heart beating a joyous rhythm in her ribcage.
Not that it mattered now. Right now, Miranda could hardly think through the erratic pulsing in her ears. She stared at the newcomer as he took a step toward them, that gleeful grin spread across his face.
“No,” she breathed.
He definitely looked like he’d spent the last few hours scouring the woods for her.
He stood a little over ten feet away, his clothes covered in dirt and ripped in multiple places.
Somehow, he’d lost one of his shoes, his bare foot sinking into the earth.
Leaves clung to his body, a couple of twigs sticking out of his hair like horns.
Between that and his torn clothes, he looked like a homeless satyr.
Except this wasn’t a woodland god. No, this was none other than—
“Jerry.” The word escaped her before she realized she’d said it.
That grin of his widened. “Don’t look so surprised to see me again, Miranda. You should’ve known better than to try to get away from me. All you’ve managed to do is piss me off even more.”
She gulped, unable to tear her gaze away from him. Of course it was bound to happen. He would’ve found her eventually, no matter how hard she tried to get away from him. Jerry wasn’t one to give up once he’d set his mind to something.
“You’ve just delayed the inevitable,” Jerry went on. His gaze flicked from Miranda to her companion, and he lifted an eyebrow. “And I see you’ve already made a new friend.”
Bryon shuffled forward then, fixing the other man with a scowl. “You must be the ex-boyfriend. I’ve heard about you.”
“All good things, I hope,” replied Jerry with a sneer. “Nice outfit.”
His humor was completely lost on the wolf shifter. Bryon shifted his weight, leaning heavily on his uninjured foot. “It’s been a really long day. The last thing we need right now is you adding to our problems. I’ll advise you to turn around and leave, if you know what’s good for you.”
He looked calm, but his tone was laced with barely contained anger. Was it because Jerry was human? Or was it because it was Jerry who stood before them?
Jerry didn’t even seem to notice the other man’s tone. “Or what? What’s a man in a bathrobe going to do to stop me?” His eyes widened, like he’d just noticed something else, and his shoulder shook with amusement. “Oh, man. Is that a sash on your foot? Did you hurt yourself?”
“I might be injured, but I can still—”
“Look, buddy, this is between me and my girl, okay? Not you. Get lost.”
And without waiting for a response from Bryon, Jerry returned his attention to Miranda, the sneer returning to his face.
“What exactly were you thinking, Miranda? Figured you could just dump me? Figured you could call it quits on us and move on?” He shook his head, taking another step closer, and a cold shiver traveled up her spine. “It doesn’t work that way, babe.”
“It does when you happen to be a lying, cheating asshole,” she spat.
Jerry flinched like she’d slapped him across the face. Then his eyes narrowed. “You and I are endgame. We’re meant to be together. You know that.”
“No, I know better.” She sucked in a deep breath, her heart thudding so hard it was a miracle no one else could hear it. “That’s why I left. I want nothing to do with you, Jerry. You can’t have me back, and you never will.”
Fury flashed in his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
His every word was dripping with anger, but Miranda ignored the knot forming in her gut.
She’d had enough. Enough of Jerry, enough of running, enough of everything.
“Look, Jerry, I’ll make it clear as many times as I have to: I don’t want anything to do with you.
I should’ve informed the police when you started threatening me.
The second I’m out of here, I won’t hesitate to do it if it means keeping you as far away from me as possible. ”
Jerry’s fury was momentarily replaced by something else. Fear? “Then maybe I’ll just have to make sure you don’t get out of these woods, babe.”
Okay, that definitely sent a chill through her body. Before she could figure out whether to come up with a response or turn around and run away screaming in terror, Bryon stepped in front of her, holding out his arms at his sides as though to shield her from her ex-boyfriend’s threats.
“Don’t even think of trying anything stupid,” he said to the other man.
Jerry gave a dangerous scoff. “I thought I asked you to get lost?”
“Leave her alone. She’s not your girlfriend anymore. You need to—”
“Get lost!”
He moved without warning, faster than Miranda could blink. The next thing she knew, his fist had connected with Bryon’s jaw. Bryon staggered backward with a heavy grunt, nearly slamming into her in the process.
“No!” she heard herself cry.
Bryon recovered surprisingly quickly. She couldn’t see his face, but the anger radiating from him was almost palpable.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said.
And then he struck.
He was even quicker than Jerry, and as he launched himself at the other man, he was almost a complete blur. Jerry didn’t even have time to react. Bryon’s fist slammed into his face with a heavy thud. Before Jerry could recover from the blow, Bryon punched him in the gut, and the man went down hard.
“I warned you to leave her alone,” Bryon snarled, as Jerry began pulling himself to his feet, clutching his stomach. “You should’ve listened to me.”
The other man’s eyes flashed. “You’ve got hands, I’ll give you that. But you’re not going to take me down hobbling about with an injured foot. You’re less of a human than I am.”
He clearly meant that as an insult, but Bryon didn’t even flinch. “You’re right. In fact, I’m not even human at all.”
Jerry blinked at him in confusion. “What do you...?”
It happened then, without warning. Bryon tossed aside the bathrobe. His skin seemed to darken and sprout thick, brown fur, and Miranda saw claws extend from his fingertips. As she watched, his face elongated into a snout, and an inhuman growl rose from his throat.
It was a jarring sight.
And Jerry seemed to think so, too. The man stumbled back with a cry, tripping over a root and landing on his butt. His eyes bulged out of their sockets, his jaw hanging open as he scrambled to his feet.
“Wha...what the hell are you?” he stammered.
He didn’t bother waiting for a response, but turned and fled, nearly tripping again as he raced out of sight.