Avenging Autumn (18 page)

“As I’m sure you’re aware, The Company of Tooth and Claw have attacked a number of people in the local area. They’re organized, ruthless. Don’t try to tell me that this ... kid ... is the one organizing everyone.” He leaned forward. “We know who you are, Autumn Anderson. We know what you’re capable of.”

“So then you’ll know what we’ve been fighting for all this time. We only wanted for shifters to become an equal part of society, not to be hidden away for the government to run experiments on. With all due respect, you wouldn’t even believe some of the stuff I’ve seen behind closed doors. The government has allowed people like Vivian Winters to experiment on people for years.” Did she see a flicker of recognition on his face when she’d mentioned Vivian’s name? Was there a chance he knew exactly what she was and what she was capable of? Was there even a chance Vivian had paid off this department in order to get her arrested, and if so, to what gain? Having her arrested seemed far too civilized to be any part of Vivian’s plan.

Autumn continued, “And I don’t just mean shifters. She’s abducted innocent children from their families and held them for years. All we wanted was for it all to stop, and for shifters to feel like they had a voice. I’ve never once wanted shifters to be superior to people, only equals, and the vast majority of shifters I’ve met want the same thing. This Company of Tooth and Claw are a minority, and they’re not a group I’m associated with.”

“So you’re saying you’re not associated with them, even though you are clearly in this video footage giving them orders, and we also happened to pick up a couple of members of The Company traveling with you when we picked you up.”

She remembered seeing the other wolves—Ollie’s shifters—being bundled out of the forest by animal control while she was being arrested. “Surely those shifters have told you who is in charge of them? I assumed they’ve shifted back now.”

“Of course, they’re both men, and both of them, when asked if you were their leader, said you were.”

Her eyes widened. “Of course they did! They’re trying to protect Ollie Pritchard! Don’t you think if I was the one organizing them that they’d be a little more cagey about my identity.”

“Of course, but it’s not up to me to decide if you’re guilty or not. We have a court of law to determine that.”

“I’m pretty sure you have some say in it, considering you were the one who arrested me!”

He glanced down at his paperwork. “You have a court appearance scheduled in a couple of hours. I highly recommend you take my offer of a lawyer.”

“I don’t want your fucking lawyer.”

The sheriff lifted an eyebrow. “Now, now, Miss. Anderson. I suggest you calm down.”

She steeled her jaw. “It’s Doctor Anderson, actually.”

He gave a cold smile. “In my jail, I get to call you whatever the hell I want.”

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T
HE MOMENT THEY pulled the car into the driveway, people came running from the house.

Mia was relieved to see Lakota, Wenona, Madison, and Billy, all appearing safe and unharmed. She knew Autumn had been worried about them, feeling like she’d left them unguarded when Vivian knew their location.

She and Angie climbed out of the truck, to be rewarded with embraces and numerous questions.

Lakota’s gaze moved behind them. “Where is everyone else? Did Autumn find Vivian Winters?”

Mia shook her head. “No. When we reached the place she was supposed to be, Vivian had already left. She’d left Autumn a parting gift, though, in the form of a set-up to make her look like she, and the rest of us, are a part of this gang, The Company of Tooth and Claw.”

“What? Why?”

“Because Vivian doesn’t just want to take down Autumn. She wants to ruin things for all shifters. She made it look like we attacked a group of people, and that Autumn was right there, supporting us. The whole thing has been posted online already.”

“Gosh darn it,” said Wenona, shaking her head in dismay.

“So where are they now?” asked Lakota.

“They got a message that Vivian would be heading back this way. We started to head back, but then Autumn and the others spotted what appeared to be a big fire to the west, so they went to check it out.”

“Why aren’t you with them?”

Mia frowned and shook her head. “I haven’t been feeling well. I don’t know if it’s the shift, but I just feel weird.”

Wenona took her arm, as though Mia were the old woman, not the other way around. “Here, let’s get you into the house and make you some tea.”

Mia accepted the support gratefully. “Thank you.”

“So tell me a little more about how you’ve been feeling?” the older woman enquired, looking at her curiously.

“I don’t know how to explain it, really. I think I’ve just picked up the stomach flu, or something.”

She gave a small smile. “But you’re a shifter now, dear. You can’t pick up the stomach flu.”

“I know. I guess my body just hasn’t reacted well to shifting for the first time.”

She patted her hand. “Of course. Let’s get you inside.”

They took the steps onto the porch and then headed into the kitchen, Angie, Lakota, and Madison following close behind. Mia found herself ushered into one of the chairs positioned around the kitchen table, and for once she didn’t mind being made a fuss of.

Wenona made tea for everyone, and set a cup in front of Mia.

She placed her hand against Mia’s forehead. “Hmm, it’s hard to tell, as your temperature is elevated anyway from being a shifter, but from what I can tell, I think congratulations are in order.”

Mia’s eyes opened wide, her heart lurching. “What?”

“I’m going to guess you and that lovely man of yours have been rather ... busy?”

Mia’s cheeks flushed with heat. “Umm ...”

“No need to be coy.” Wenona gave her a wink. “I was young once too, you know. From what you’ve described, I’d say there’s a damn good chance you’re pregnant.”

Mia’s hand automatically went to her belly. She tried to remember when her last period had been, and realized it had been at least six weeks ago, possibly longer. Her other hand went to her mouth. “Oh, my God.”

“It’s good news, right?”

“I ... I guess so. I don’t know. It’s all so soon.”

“Your man will be thrilled. I can tell just by looking at you that you’re very much in love.”

“We are,” she agreed. “But ... but is this for real?”

“I’ve always been able to spot someone who is carrying.”

“I don’t know what to think. I mean, it’s not even confirmed. I’m going to have to see a doctor, or at least get a test.”

Wenona smiled. “Of course, you do. But I’m rarely wrong about these things.”

Mia took a deep breath. Did she really have a little life growing inside of her? A life she and Peter had created. Her mind whirled with so many thoughts, her emotions confused. Part of her didn’t dare to hope such a wonderful thing might happen to her, while the other part worried what Peter’s reaction would be. Would the baby be a shifter like Peter and her? Would it have been hurt by her shift?

It dawned on her that someone was missing. “Where’s Blake?”

Wenona and Lakota exchanged a glance. “Something happened,” Lakota admitted.

Her heart rate stepped up a notch, worrying for Autumn. She was going through so much, she wouldn’t be able to handle much more. “What?”

Lakota rose to his feet. “It’s easier if you come and see.”

He walked out of the kitchen and headed down the hallway. Mia hurriedly got up, pausing for a moment as lightheadedness made the room swim, and then she took after him. He stopped outside of the room Blake and Autumn had been sharing before Autumn had left. Without bothering to knock, Lakota walked in.

Mia followed, her heart in her throat, preparing herself for what she would find. Though her mind had conjured up horrific injuries, she walked into the room to discover Blake lying asleep on the bed. His chest rose and fell, his face appeared peaceful.

Confusion scattered her thoughts. Why was Lakota showing her this?

“He’s asleep,” she whispered, so as not to disturb Blake.

Lakota shook his head and spoke in a normal voice. “No, he’s not. I helped his spirit go into the spirit world to find his wolf, and he’s not found his way back to his body again.”

“What?”

“He managed to get back before. He must have forgotten my warnings, and lost sight of his body.”

“What can we do to bring him back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can we send someone else in to find him?” All she could think about was Autumn and how she wouldn’t be able to handle much more pain.

Lakota regarded her with his deep brown eyes, so similar to Blake’s. “It’s possible, yes. But they would need to have a connection to the spirit world.”

She pressed her lips together, not wanting the words to come from her mouth, yet unable to hold them back. “Like another shifter?”

“Yes, but it needs to be someone who has a strong connection. You’re a new shifter, Mia.” He had read her thoughts. “If someone as strong as Blake can get lost, I wouldn’t want to risk you, too. Especially,” his eyes flicked to her stomach, “considering your condition.”

The idea of her pregnancy hadn’t sunk in, or even been confirmed, yet still her hand instinctively went to her stomach. She had to admit to herself she was relieved at Lakota’s response. Though she wanted to help, the last thing she wanted to do was go through a strange and frightening experience. She hadn’t even really believed in spirits before she’d gotten involved with the spirit shifters. She’d always hoped there had been some kind of afterlife—mainly because there had always been a chance that Marcus had been dead all these years, even though she’d never allowed herself to believe that he had been killed. But still, the possibility of an afterlife existing brought some comfort, even if she’d never been one hundred percent certain. Now, however, she was, and she definitely didn’t want to visit whatever world they inhabited.

The sound of an engine started up outside, and everyone turned toward the window.

Instinctively, Mia’s heart hoped the noise signaled the return of Peter and Autumn, but then she realized she would have heard the engine die off, not start up.

She glanced at the matching confusion on Lakota and Wenona’s faces.

“What the hell?”

They looked around at who was missing.

“It must be Madison,” said Wenona. “She’s taken Billy with her.”

They ran to the front door and onto the porch, hoping to catch up with them, but the vehicle was long gone, only a cloud of dust settling on the ground.

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H
IS PAWS STRUCK the ground in a rhythmical gallop along the edge of the road. His breath heaved in and out of his lungs, exhaled in white plumes into the cool air. He wasn’t worried about being seen as much as he was desperate to get back to the house. He’d lost the others, though Tala and Nadie flew somewhere overhead. He figured Peter, Tocho, and Sahale would know to make their way back to the house—that was if they hadn’t been caught as well.

Chogan was ashamed to admit that he’d run when the police had shown up to arrest Autumn. They hadn’t been organized enough to deal with an entire sheriff’s department of armed cops. Animal control had grabbed a couple of Ollie Pritchard’s shifters, placing giant nooses around their necks as though they were no more than a couple of street dogs, and the others had taken off. Tala and Nadie had been too far away to have been of any immediate use, and by the time they’d figured out what was going on, the truck containing Autumn and the others had been surrounded by armed police. Any attempt at intervention would have resulted in a shoot out, and he couldn’t have risked Autumn’s life like that.

He left the main road to cut through a couple of fields, and then through the wooded area surrounding Wenona’s home. He still wasn’t sure what he planned on doing when he got there, only that he needed to speak to Blake and Lakota and try to figure out their next step. He wished he knew what Autumn had been arrested for. Was it something Vivian Winters had orchestrated or something else entirely?

Right before he reached the huge driveway of Wenona’s property, Chogan stopped and forced his wolf away. He needed to be human now, to be able to tell the others what had happened and figure out what to do next. As always with his wolf, the animal didn’t want to relinquish control of the body, but it had no choice. Chogan would always be the stronger of the two, though sometimes it was a close call.

Pain took hold, and he gritted his teeth as best he could considering they were changing shape and position. His jaw retracted and flattened to his face, his ears sinking into the top of his head, whiles his human ears uncurled like fungi from the sides of his head. His hips snapped and realigned themselves, his neck growing smaller. Fur retracted back into his skin, revealing only his usual coverage of dark, human hair.

It was done.

Chogan barely allowed the pain to fade before he got to his feet and ran the last few hundred yards to Wenona’s house. There was no sign of anyone on the porch, and no sign of any vehicles outside. His concern mounted.

“Hello?” he called as he burst through the door. “Where is everybody?”

To his surprise, the door of the bedroom Blake and Autumn had been sharing opened, and several faces looked out at him, including his uncle, who moved into the hallway.

Mia rushed out. “Chogan? What’s happened? Where’s Peter, and Autumn, and Marcus?”

“I’ll explain about Autumn in a moment. Peter should be somewhere behind me, I hope. We got separated, but I’m sure he’ll have enough sense to come to the house. Marcus will be in the car with the others. He’s still safe, I’m sure of it.”

Lakota moved to stand beside Mia. “Chogan, please put some clothes on before you embarrass everybody. We have women here.”

Chogan ignored his comment. He didn’t care about his nudity. “What’s going on? What are you all doing in Blake’s room?”

“Chogan, please.” His uncle’s eyebrows lifted.

Chogan exhaled air through his nose in a huff. “Okay, fine.”

He had a couple of changes of clothes shoved into a rucksack which he’d left in the corner of the living room. While the news he had burned inside him, together with his desperation to find out the reason everyone was crammed inside Blake and Autumn’s room, his uncle was resolute enough to not listen to a word he’d said until he was decent.