Mate Bond
Page 11
“Go,” Bowman said, his voice softer. “I need you out there, Kenz.”
“I know.”
Her look spoke of promise for later. Any other day, Bowman would reach out, latch his hand around her wrist, and tug her down to him. But he was lying here, injured and out of it, and Kenzie had to go. He meant it when he said he needed her to watch the others.
Kenzie smiled at him briefly, gave a more brilliant smile to Ryan, and left the room.
Bowman knew when she walked out the front door, because their little house seemed suddenly emptier.
Ryan stood a bit forlornly in the middle of the room. He still didn’t want to admit to fear, but Bowman again sensed his need for reassurance. It was tough being a cub, and tough being the only cub of the leader. Bowman remembered that well from his own childhood.
“Come on up here,” Bowman said, patting the bed beside him. “I’m going to fall asleep, and I need you to be on guard.”
Ryan didn’t hesitate to kick off his shoes and climb upon the bed. He immediately snuggled down into his father, and Bowman let his arms come around him.
Bowman needed the reassurance too, he realized as he started to relax. Just having his son next to him made him feel better.
Knowing he was responsible for the small lad who warmed his side scared the shit out of Bowman, but father and son drifted off to sleep for now, each of them comforted by the other.
* * *
Kenzie wanted to be anywhere but back in the woods near the roadhouse, but she sniffed around in her wolf form without fuss, pretending not to be worried.
The world out here was transformed by daylight. What had been blackness and strange shapes last night were now soft and kissed with sunshine. The woods weren’t as dense here as they were nearer to Shiftertown—sunlight reached the forest floor, illuminating undergrowth, mud, and the trampled footprints of what looked like every Shifter in Shiftertown.
They’d been tracking all morning, and now the woods was crisscrossed with wolf, wildcat, and bear tracks. Somewhere in the mess must lie the tracks of the monster that had attacked, but so far, no sign of them had been found.
After a thorough search Kenzie returned to human form again and stood, clothed, her hands on her hips, surveying the scene. When she’d arrived this morning she’d thought tracking as Shifter would speed the search along, but they’d gone over this place with noses to the ground for hours, and found nothing.
“You’d think something that stunk like that would be easier to locate,” Jamie said beside her. He was on his two human feet, but naked, having just shifted.
Interesting that while Jamie had a tall body replete with muscle, tatts on his lower back and arms, and eyes of green flecked with gold, he never stirred a heartbeat in Kenzie. Not because he was Feline—she’d grown used to living with different species in the last twenty years, and had even gone out with a Feline for a while. No, she’d never looked twice at Jamie, because her mind and her heart were filled with Bowman.
“I’m realizing we’re not going to find it by thinking like Shifters,” Kenzie said. “We have to think like humans for this one.”
Jamie’s frown deepened. “What does that mean?”
“The thing wasn’t . . . right, was it?” Kenzie asked. “Not really an animal.”
“No? If you’re implying it was some kind of machine, you’re wrong.”
“Not a machine, no. Different smell.”
“Then what the hell are you talking about?”
Kenzie waited, sensing Jamie’s impatience. She was Bowman’s voice while he was down, but she was aware that the Shifters acted differently with her. Bowman was injured. Kenzie wasn’t Bowman. Her awareness of their awareness made her skin prickle.
“I’m talking about not running around like crazy, leaving scents all over the woods,” Kenzie said. “We need to think.”
“Fine, then,” Jamie growled. “Think about what?”
“How it could have disappeared.” Kenzie turned in place, her gaze taking in the space between the trees and the mud and undergrowth around them. “How do things disappear?”
“Mostly Cade eats them,” Jamie said, his irritation dissolving into a big cat chuckle. He had lightning-swift changes of mood, a bit like Bowman. “People disappear because they run, they hide, they get lost, or someone takes them away.”
“Exactly.” Kenzie remained still, letting her gaze rove the woods, looking with her human brain instead of her wolf’s. “Someone takes them away. There,” she finished, pointing.
There was a cluster of trees next to a deer feeder, a wooden trough that provided nibbles for deer in deep winter. Kenzie started for it, her feet squelching through mud. Jamie heaved a sigh and came after her. He wouldn’t disobey, not blatantly, but he didn’t have to like her decisions.
Cade saw them and came loping over in his bear form. His eyes narrowed as he clearly wondered what they were up to, but he fell into step with Kenzie.
No scent came to her at the feeder except that of deer who’d ventured there a few days ago and the metallic odor of car exhaust. Kenzie moved past the feeder and around the clump of trees. On the other side of the trees, a hill led down to a ditch with an inch or so of water in it, trickling from the thaw this morning. January could be cold and then suddenly give them mild days in the high fifties and up. Today would be one of the balmy ones.
Across the ditch were thinner trees—deciduous, rather than the old-growth pines around her. Beyond that, a road.
The road was paved, one of the tiny forest roads that crossed back here. Tracks of a truck with deep-tread tires had sunk through the mud on the side of it. A big truck, by the looks of it.
Jamie followed her, jumping the ditch with his long-legged stride. Cade remained a bear. No human was around to worry that a woman, a naked man, and a grizzly walked out of the woods together, so they didn’t bother to hide. Like the start of a bad joke, Kenzie thought with grim humor.
“So that’s the answer?” Jamie said skeptically. “The monster caught a ride?”
Kenzie wrinkled her nose. The smell of truck dominated, but over it, she caught a tang of the creature. Cade must have caught it too, because he rose on his hind legs and growled.
“Yes,” Kenzie said. “Truck was waiting here, monster got into truck, truck drove off.”
“Must have been a fucking big truck,” Jamie said.
“I know.”
Her look spoke of promise for later. Any other day, Bowman would reach out, latch his hand around her wrist, and tug her down to him. But he was lying here, injured and out of it, and Kenzie had to go. He meant it when he said he needed her to watch the others.
Kenzie smiled at him briefly, gave a more brilliant smile to Ryan, and left the room.
Bowman knew when she walked out the front door, because their little house seemed suddenly emptier.
Ryan stood a bit forlornly in the middle of the room. He still didn’t want to admit to fear, but Bowman again sensed his need for reassurance. It was tough being a cub, and tough being the only cub of the leader. Bowman remembered that well from his own childhood.
“Come on up here,” Bowman said, patting the bed beside him. “I’m going to fall asleep, and I need you to be on guard.”
Ryan didn’t hesitate to kick off his shoes and climb upon the bed. He immediately snuggled down into his father, and Bowman let his arms come around him.
Bowman needed the reassurance too, he realized as he started to relax. Just having his son next to him made him feel better.
Knowing he was responsible for the small lad who warmed his side scared the shit out of Bowman, but father and son drifted off to sleep for now, each of them comforted by the other.
* * *
Kenzie wanted to be anywhere but back in the woods near the roadhouse, but she sniffed around in her wolf form without fuss, pretending not to be worried.
The world out here was transformed by daylight. What had been blackness and strange shapes last night were now soft and kissed with sunshine. The woods weren’t as dense here as they were nearer to Shiftertown—sunlight reached the forest floor, illuminating undergrowth, mud, and the trampled footprints of what looked like every Shifter in Shiftertown.
They’d been tracking all morning, and now the woods was crisscrossed with wolf, wildcat, and bear tracks. Somewhere in the mess must lie the tracks of the monster that had attacked, but so far, no sign of them had been found.
After a thorough search Kenzie returned to human form again and stood, clothed, her hands on her hips, surveying the scene. When she’d arrived this morning she’d thought tracking as Shifter would speed the search along, but they’d gone over this place with noses to the ground for hours, and found nothing.
“You’d think something that stunk like that would be easier to locate,” Jamie said beside her. He was on his two human feet, but naked, having just shifted.
Interesting that while Jamie had a tall body replete with muscle, tatts on his lower back and arms, and eyes of green flecked with gold, he never stirred a heartbeat in Kenzie. Not because he was Feline—she’d grown used to living with different species in the last twenty years, and had even gone out with a Feline for a while. No, she’d never looked twice at Jamie, because her mind and her heart were filled with Bowman.
“I’m realizing we’re not going to find it by thinking like Shifters,” Kenzie said. “We have to think like humans for this one.”
Jamie’s frown deepened. “What does that mean?”
“The thing wasn’t . . . right, was it?” Kenzie asked. “Not really an animal.”
“No? If you’re implying it was some kind of machine, you’re wrong.”
“Not a machine, no. Different smell.”
“Then what the hell are you talking about?”
Kenzie waited, sensing Jamie’s impatience. She was Bowman’s voice while he was down, but she was aware that the Shifters acted differently with her. Bowman was injured. Kenzie wasn’t Bowman. Her awareness of their awareness made her skin prickle.
“I’m talking about not running around like crazy, leaving scents all over the woods,” Kenzie said. “We need to think.”
“Fine, then,” Jamie growled. “Think about what?”
“How it could have disappeared.” Kenzie turned in place, her gaze taking in the space between the trees and the mud and undergrowth around them. “How do things disappear?”
“Mostly Cade eats them,” Jamie said, his irritation dissolving into a big cat chuckle. He had lightning-swift changes of mood, a bit like Bowman. “People disappear because they run, they hide, they get lost, or someone takes them away.”
“Exactly.” Kenzie remained still, letting her gaze rove the woods, looking with her human brain instead of her wolf’s. “Someone takes them away. There,” she finished, pointing.
There was a cluster of trees next to a deer feeder, a wooden trough that provided nibbles for deer in deep winter. Kenzie started for it, her feet squelching through mud. Jamie heaved a sigh and came after her. He wouldn’t disobey, not blatantly, but he didn’t have to like her decisions.
Cade saw them and came loping over in his bear form. His eyes narrowed as he clearly wondered what they were up to, but he fell into step with Kenzie.
No scent came to her at the feeder except that of deer who’d ventured there a few days ago and the metallic odor of car exhaust. Kenzie moved past the feeder and around the clump of trees. On the other side of the trees, a hill led down to a ditch with an inch or so of water in it, trickling from the thaw this morning. January could be cold and then suddenly give them mild days in the high fifties and up. Today would be one of the balmy ones.
Across the ditch were thinner trees—deciduous, rather than the old-growth pines around her. Beyond that, a road.
The road was paved, one of the tiny forest roads that crossed back here. Tracks of a truck with deep-tread tires had sunk through the mud on the side of it. A big truck, by the looks of it.
Jamie followed her, jumping the ditch with his long-legged stride. Cade remained a bear. No human was around to worry that a woman, a naked man, and a grizzly walked out of the woods together, so they didn’t bother to hide. Like the start of a bad joke, Kenzie thought with grim humor.
“So that’s the answer?” Jamie said skeptically. “The monster caught a ride?”
Kenzie wrinkled her nose. The smell of truck dominated, but over it, she caught a tang of the creature. Cade must have caught it too, because he rose on his hind legs and growled.
“Yes,” Kenzie said. “Truck was waiting here, monster got into truck, truck drove off.”
“Must have been a fucking big truck,” Jamie said.
