Andromeda's Fall (Shadowcat Nation) (11 page)

Andie
burst outside. She watched in horror as Jaxon, who could easily defeat several
wolves on his own, was ambushed by all ten at once. He held his own for a few
seconds. Several big wolves looked as though they were tossed away from the
fray with little effort. But after a moment, he went down under the force of
the pack.

With
a guttural growl, Andie ran and leapt directly on the back of the wolf closest
to her. She stabbed her unsheathed claws into the side of his head and pulled
back hard. She would’ve sunk her jaws into his neck if she hadn’t been carrying
her weapon, but she needed it more than she needed to kill this one wolf. The
creature stumbled under the impact of her hit and the pain of its injury. As he
went down, Andie jumped. She landed right on top of Jaxon and grimaced. No way
to be gentle given the snapping jaws of the wolves around her.

Without
a moment’s hesitation Andie shifted, grabbed the weapon she’d dropped, and
turned it on full blast. Fire burst from the end of the flamethrower, and she
aimed at the closest wolf, catching him point-blank in his side. He howled in
pain. Then she spun in a circle, forcing back the rest of their attackers.

They
retreated but didn’t leave. The firelight glinted off their eyes and snapping
teeth. The one she’d lit up had rolled in the snow and now lay injured, but
alive, off to the side. While keeping her eyes on the shifters, she knelt down
to Jaxon, who was still prone on the ground.

Get
up,
she pleaded with him silently. She couldn’t fend them off alone. Nor could she
stay in human form much longer. Not in these temperatures.

“Jaxon
Keller, get your ass up!” she ordered in the most Commander-ish tone she could
muster.

Come
on. Come on,
she pleaded silently. She aimed the fire at one of the wolves who was trying to
inch closer. It danced back with a snarl.

“Keller,
if you don’t get your arrogant butt moving, I’m leaving you to the wolves,” she
tried again, nudging him with her foot this time.

Please…

Suddenly
Jaxon heaved a deep breath, and Andie inhaled with him. He opened his eyes,
pushed to his feet and gave his body a long shake. Snow flew from his fur,
hitting Andie’s bare skin. But she was so numb at this point, it didn’t really
matter.

“You
good?” she asked quietly.

He
nodded and then pulled his lips back in a grin that would have been cute if he
hadn’t been showing his razor sharp teeth. Instead it looked feral.

When
the wolves saw Jaxon stand upright, they growled but didn’t move. She and Jaxon
were still outnumbered nine against two, with possibly more wolves out where
she couldn’t see them. Wolves weren’t stupid. Andie inched toward them with the
fire, forcing them to skitter back. Jaxon prowled along beside her. With no
warning, the wolf closest to Andie lunged for her.

Before
Andie could aim her flames at the beast, a massive polar bear suddenly appeared
and caught the wolf mid-leap in his colossal jaws. Andie watched in shocked
relief as the bear shook his head violently, tossing his victim around like a
rag doll. Then he dropped the limp form to the ground.

With
an earthshaking roar that Andie felt down to her toes, he started stalking
towards the rest of the pack. At a signal from their leader, they scattered and
ran. The bear took off in pursuit.

Andie
dropped her weapon to the ground and shifted, feeling instantly warmer. She
could hear the bear roaring as he thundered after the wolves. Andie grabbed the
flamethrower in her teeth and moved to Jaxon’s side. She leaned into him,
supporting some of his weight. He’d put on a brave front for their adversaries,
but he was barely keeping himself upright. Once she was touching him, Andie
could feel the violent tremors wracking his body. He was ready to drop, but she
couldn’t do much to help him in her present form.

Shifting
back, she said, “Start walking for the house. I’m going to put on some clothes,
and then I’ll be out to help you.”

He
nodded, and she shifted and took off at a sprint. She was pulling too-large
boots onto her feet when the sound of a cougar’s scream outside the cabin made
her heart stop. She burst out the front door, terrified she’d find Jaxon at the
bottom of a pile of wolf shifters again.

Jaxon
had his back to her. His ears were pinned, and he was snarling and hissing as
he faced off against the massive polar bear who’d just helped them chase off
the pack. The bear, easily one of the biggest creatures Andie had ever seen,
topped Jaxon by a good fifteen hundred pounds or more. Gleaming white except
for the black of his mouth and nose, he was an impressive sight. And despite
Jaxon’s aggressive posture, the bear was just standing there, seemingly
unfazed.

“Stop!”
Andie yelled.

She
ran out into the yard and put herself between the two animals before Jaxon
could lunge. She was guessing the only reasons he hadn’t so far were his
injuries and possibly a curiosity as to the animal’s assistance earlier.

So
he wouldn’t think the worst, and before he could do anything, Andie turned her
back on the bear and faced Jaxon directly. She made no eye contact. In battle
mode, he might take it as a challenge.

“He’s
a friend,” she said in a soothing voice. “He’s here to help.”

Jaxon
didn’t move, nor did he remove his intense gaze from the shifter standing
behind her. Andie got down on her hands and knees right in his face. A risky
move with a male cougar, especially when she was in her more vulnerable form.
But she trusted him not to hurt her.

“Jaxon,”
she called.

Still
no response.

“Jaxon,”
she said a little more loudly.

Tentatively
she reached out and stroked her hand from the side of his face, back across his
neck, over his withers, and down his shoulder. She felt the powerful muscles
ripple at her touch.

“Jaxon,”
she whispered.

Finally
he looked at her with fevered eyes.

“He’s
a friend,” she said.

Jaxon
looked back and forth between her and the polar bear, who still hadn’t moved.
She ran her hand over him again in the same soothing motion. He looked at her
and nodded. Just once, but it was all the acknowledgement she needed. She
echoed the gesture.

“I’m
going to hug him now. It’ll look like he’s mauling me, but I promise you he’s
not. Got it?”

Another
single nod, though this time with a small snarl of protest.

She
smiled and shrugged. “I work in a male-dominated position and have a lot of guy
friends. Deal with it.”

With
that she stood and turned. She gave the polar bear a huge smile and ran
straight at him. He stood up on his hind legs, reaching an imposing height of
eleven feet - big even for his species. She had to put the power of her
cougar’s legs into her jump as she leapt up into his arms. She wrapped her own
arms around his thick neck and felt his big furry front legs close around her.

“Hey,
Papa Bear,” she murmured into his fur. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

A
low, grumbling growl was her answer. After a long moment, she unwound her arms
from around his neck. He let go and dropped her lightly back to the ground.

Glancing
over her shoulder, she saw that Jaxon was swaying on his feet as he watched the
scene unfold. Andie felt a pang of remorse. “We’ve got to get him inside,” she
said to the bear.

She
walked back to him, leaving her friend where he was. Jaxon stopped his movement
and watched her. She knelt down and reached out to soothe him with the same
caress she’d used earlier. This time, he leaned into her touch and purred a
little.

“Jaxon,
this is Zac Montclair.”

Jaxon
and Zac both shifted. Then Andie and Zac supported Jaxon’s weight between the
two of them, and they started slowly making their way back to the cabin. A
couple of times, Andie wasn’t sure if Zac was going to have to carry him. Jaxon
would stumble and then hold there, gathering himself. Once, he went down
completely. Andie was nearly frantic with worry. She’d never seen him like this,
so vulnerable. She got down in his face. He blinked several times and then
focused on her as she tried to encourage him to continue hang in there.

Come
on. Just a little further.

She
saw the moment his eyes hardened with determination. Shakily, he pushed back to
his feet, and together they stumbled and limped back to the house. But they
finally made it. As soon as they were inside, Jaxon groaned and immediately
collapsed on the floor, out cold.

“I’ve
gotta get my pack,” Zac said before he went back outside. Andie closed the door
behind him. Then she checked on Jaxon. His pulse was steady, as was his
breathing. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his nude form, making
sure to dry his snow-covered feet first. And then she quickly ran around the house
locking everything in sight, except the front door.

Zac
returned a moment later. “No time to talk right now. Those wolves could be back
soon. What do you need me to do?”

Andie
regarded her friend with grateful eyes. At almost seven feet tall, muscled and
lean, he was an intimidating man. Handsome, too. But she’d known him since he
was a young boy, so all Andie felt was a sisterly affection.

She
nodded and led him down to the basement. “There’s no way we’re getting out of
here tonight with Jaxon in this condition, so we need to hunker down. Do what
you can to secure us in case those wolf shifters regroup and attack before
morning.”

He
nodded and got to work.

Andie
went back upstairs and knelt beside Jaxon. She carefully ran her hands over
him, checking for broken bones or bleeding. Luckily she found no breaks. With a
couple of good heaves, she managed to roll him over and discovered an ugly gash
in his abdomen.

Andie
wasn’t a doctor, but part of her training had been in field dressing. She
inspected the wound and determined he needed stitches. As far as she could
tell, there wasn’t internal bleeding, but she couldn’t be sure. She had no idea
how deep the wound went or what organs might’ve been hit. But she’d have to
take the chance that closing the gash was the best course of action.

After
running back downstairs, she gathered what she needed. Fortunately the first
aid kit was well equipped. After Andie cleaned Jaxon up, she very neatly
stitched the wound closed. She gave him a shot of antibiotics, along with some
morphine, and hoped to heaven he wasn’t allergic to either. But risk of
infection was the greater threat, and the kit had an EpiPen if needed. Andie
sat back and regarded her handiwork, satisfied that she’d done all she could.

“Hey,
Zac,” she called.

He
popped his head around the corner.

“Help
me get him over to the fire?”

He
nodded. Zac grabbed Jaxon under his arms and Andie took his feet, as they
maneuvered him into the living room.

“Ugh.
I think I have a hernia,” she groaned, massaging her hip. She looked over at
her friend. “And apparently saving my ass has turned you grey,” she teased,
looking at the silver hair in his dark beard and at his temples.

“Well,
you do seem to get yourself into trouble a lot,” he grumbled.

“Don’t
worry, it looks sexy,” she winked. Then she sobered. “Lucky you got to us just
in time to deal with those wolves.”

“Luck
had nothing to do with it. I ran across their scent on the way down and started
tracking them. Andie… I’m pretty sure they were following Keller. Maybe you.”

Andie’s
brow puckered. “You mean they picked up our scents and decided to take
advantage of the opportunity to eliminate two more cougar shifters?”

“No.
I mean they’re hunting you for a purpose. They’ve been waiting and watching
this place since before you showed up. I’ve been watching them. It’s why I’m
late.”

“Shit,”
Andie breathed.

“Any
idea why?”

“No
clue.” Andie shook her head.

“I’m
not done getting set up, and he’s starting to shiver.” He nodded toward Jaxon.
“Better get on with it.” Zac turned and went back to setting up their defenses.
No one was better at laying traps than Papa Bear.

Andie
quickly covered Jaxon back up and then got a roaring fire going. Then she
headed upstairs and dragged down all the blankets she could find. Satisfied
that he was as warm and comfortable as she could make him in the cold house,
Andie bit her lip and debated her next step.

The
wolf shifters hadn’t expected a polar bear, and having Zac helped their odds
some. But the pack would likely be back and with friends. Clearly, they needed
to get out of there, and that meant they needed help.

Satellite
phone!

Andie
looked through the house until she found it in Jaxon’s room. She managed to get
a hold of William, and she quickly filled him in on the situation.

After
a bout of very creative swearing, he said, “There’s another blizzard, bigger
this time, rolling your way. Should hit later tonight. We can’t get to you
until it passes.”

Andie
thought through their options. “How long are they predicting the worst of the
storm will last?”

“About
two days.”

“How
far away is the spot where you dropped Jaxon off?”

“Roughly
forty-five miles.”

“So
a few days’ hike given the weather and Jaxon’s injuries,” she murmured to
herself. “Okay. Pick us up there two days from now, right around sundown. We’ll
be there.”

“In
this weather? With Jaxon injured?”

“Would
you rather we face the wolves on our own? We’ll be there come hell or high
water. Give me the coordinates.”

Hanging
up the phone, Andie looked at Jaxon’s prone form. He was still unconscious, so
she went to help Zac. After getting the details of what he’d done and had left
to do, she got to work. Flashlight in hand, she spent a good deal of time
laying traps and alarms at the various entrances to the house. The cabin was
relatively small, but it still took some time for them to get everything set
up.

Nearing
exhaustion, she stood in the living room with Zac beside her and surveyed their
setup. “That’s as good as it’s going to get,” she muttered.

“You
look zonked, and I’m pretty fresh. Not many hours till daylight anyway. I’ll
take the watch.”

She
gave her friend a big hug. “Thank you.”

He
nodded and then headed outside. The time for talking would have to come later.

Andie
stoked the fire a little more and then lay down beside Jaxon on the floor.
While the fire helped with the warmth, body heat was better. After having run
around the house as it got steadily colder, she was pretty chilly by now. She
snuggled right into Jaxon, draping a leg across his and tucking her head onto
his broad shoulder.

She
couldn’t sleep deeply because she needed to stay alert in case the wolves
returned and Zac needed her help. But she could keep them both a little warmer
this way. She couldn’t let herself think about how right it felt to lie here
beside him like this. She just soaked in the heat and kept her ears open for
any sign of a second attack.