Doe and the Wolf (Furry United Coalition, #5) (16 page)

Patting Miranda’s hand, Dawn couldn’t exactly refute her claim, having also seen those videos and been present for a birth or two. She had nothing but the highest respect for those who chose to go the natural route without the drugs. She, on the other hand, would probably opt for the epidural, as she didn’t do well with pain. She tried to offer reassurance. “I’m sure your husband will be along soon. He’ll be able to help.” If he didn’t faint, a common occurrence among daddies.

“I know Chase will find me. He never lets me down. Just like Everett will find you.” Miranda squeezed her hand before screaming, “Carrot-freaking-mother-of-all-cakes, that hurts!”

Dawn winced, less because of noise and more because Miranda practically crushed her hand. She hated leaving the bunny alone, but Joey was done being patient. Grabbing her roughly by the arm, he pulled her away from the cursing and sweating FUC agent.

“Good luck,” she whispered, not knowing who needed it more at the moment.

Joey seemed to know exactly where he wanted to go, and with him partially dragging her, they eventually arrived in a ragged clearing bordered on one edge by a sheer drop-off. In other circumstances, the view would have proven magnificent; the trees on the far side a rainbow of fall colors, the striations of the rocky bluff an artist’s dream.

“Where are we?” she asked as he released her.

“The wolf will recognize it. It’s where he should have died the last time we met.”

Remembering Everett’s injuries, Dawn swallowed hard. The drop was steep and lined with rocks. Sharp rocks. It was a miracle he’d survived the fall the first time. Would he be so lucky a second? “You don’t have to do this, Joey. There’s still a chance for everyone to get out of this alive. Just turn yourself in.”

“Never. I won’t go back to a tiny cell. I won’t let them tamper with my brain or take away my powers.”

“Aren’t you tired of hiding though?”

“Once I kill those chasing us, I won’t have to. We’ll leave this place and start over, you and me, the happiest couple alive. Together we’ll make super babies. Just imagine them.”

Unfortunately, she could. Ugly little critters with bulging eyes, four cloven hooves, and a nervous tic like Joey’s. She’d rather die first.

How casually she accepted her probable demise. Then again, what else could she do? She’d already had plenty of time to analyze the situation. No matter which way she perused it, the end result was bleak. No way would Chase leave Miranda once he found her, which left only Everett and Tom to face the lizard menace, if Tom wasn’t sent for help. If Tom ended up out of the picture, then that left a one-on-one. Psycho gecko against a cocky wolf. Who would prevail?

Dawn feared the answer.

O
nce Everett and his posse hit the woods, Chase shed his humanity in a burst that sent clothes scattering. He then proceeded to prove grizzlies could haul ass. Opting for four feet as well, Everett stuck close behind, ears perked, alert for any sound that might give him an indication of Dawn’s status. As for Tom, he lumbered along behind in human form, clutching his beloved shotgun.

Fear of arriving too late made them reckless. They tore through the brush and undergrowth, making no attempt to mask the noise of their chase. Joey knew they were coming after him, so why bother wasting time with silence?

The acrid fear knotting his stomach was something Everett was unfamiliar with. Usually, he jumped into missions with all four feet and a cocky attitude, but this time, he wasn’t fighting for himself or justice, but the woman he loved.
The woman I want as mate.
A future without Dawn just wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate.

How strange to realize now as he tore through a forest at the heels of a bear that his father had spoken the truth when he said once you met the right woman, your life changed forever. Of course his exact words were, “Once I met the bitch, life as I knew it, as a free-swinging single man was over.” Not exactly a poetic sentiment, but still, Everett understood what he meant.

His perspective and goals in life had changed since meeting Dawn. The idea of settling down with one female, popping out cubs, and living a normal life, one not dependent on fast food, booze, and chaos appealed to him. He wanted it. Wanted the normalcy, the passion they enjoyed together, the regular home-cooked meals that made him drool before he even sat down.

Would the fact he’d failed to protect her doom the dream before he got to have it?

Not if he could help it. He ran faster, outpacing the bear, straining for a sign, scent, anything to let him know they were closing in.

As it turned out, he didn’t hear his little doe, but they all heard the sounds of a not-so-happy rabbit long before they reached her.

“I swear to the big carrot in the sky, I am going to sew my legs together when this is all over.”

Someone was having last minute issues with the pregnancy it seemed. And she wasn’t alone.

Ever see a massive grizzly slam to a sudden halt? It was a funny sight, especially given his momentum. Chase ended up skidding on his hairy ass and falling face first in front of his wife, who squatted over Dawn’s coat that appeared soaked in some kind of fluid.

“About time you showed up,” snarled the not-so-cute bunny in labor. “Here I am about to birth
your
child sporting
your
ginormous head while you’re taking a leisurely jog through the woods.”

“I got here as fast as I could,” Chase growled right after he made a quick switch to his human form.

“I see someone needs to get his fat ass on a treadmill. Because that was not fast en—” Miranda didn’t complete her harangue, probably because she was too busy screaming through her next contraction.

Arriving last, Tom already had his cellphone out and was calling their coordinates in to the furry coalition, requesting a doctor. Smart man.

“What can I do to help?” Chase asked.

“Other than neutering yourself?” Miranda panted. “Get ready to catch this sucker because junior is coming.”

“Oh, no it’s not. You keep that baby in there. This is not the place or time to have our child,” Chase commanded, his eyes so wide they practically popped out of his head.

“Keep it in? Ha!” Miranda laughed before yelling again.

Everett inched to the side, not wanting to be in the way of whatever came shooting out of the bunny’s body. Unfortunately, his movement drew attention.

“You!” Miranda glared at him. “Why are you still here?”

“Um.” Was there a correct answer that wouldn’t piss her off?

Nope. “Don’t just stand there like a slack-jawed idiot. That crazy freaking gecko has Dawn. You need to rescue her and kick his ugly lizard ass.”

Everett glanced at Chase, who shrugged. “Go. I don’t need your help with my wife. She’s going to keep that baby in there until the doctor arrives.”

“Ha. No I’m not. But Everett needs to go. Now-OW! OW! OW!”

He didn’t hesitate any longer. Off he sprinted, leaving behind a bellowing bunny about to give birth and a bear determined to not let her. As for Tom, who the fuck cared? Either he followed or he didn’t. Dawn needed him.

It was with little surprise that Everett burst from the trees to find himself in the same spot he’d confronted the gecko before. Just one difference this time. Looking terrified, but uninjured, was Dawn.

Standing in his way, though, was a giant lizard. Just his luck, Joey was even uglier than before, slavering from his overlong teeth, his skin a scaly green, and his eyes rolling about madly inside his head, Everett wished he’d brought a gun so he could end this quickly. But, no, he thought he’d have a bear as backup this time and had foregone a weapon.

“Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell lunch,” lisped the gecko, his misshapen mouth straining to spit out the words.

“Wrong fairy tale, mosquito breath,” Everett snarled before he shifted to his wolfman shape. Harder to retain because of the energy involved, he still opted for it, knowing from previous experience his wolf and human form were no match for the massive monster.

Just his luck, he’d lost his grizzly sidekick on the way, not to mention Tom. He could have really used some help, especially from Tom’s shotgun loaded with tranquilizer-coated silver shot.

A long tongue flicked from the reptilian face and slimed Dawn’s cheek. Everett’s wolf growled, a low rumble of discontent as she shuddered.

Joey took a lumbering step forward. “I think it’s time we rewrote the stories. I’m sure people would love to read a tale about a wolf who gets his ass handed to him by a gecko.”

“In your dreams, tailless.”

“It’ll grow back!”

“Maybe it will, but you’ll still always have a small dick. Pity Mastermind couldn’t fix that.”

And with those fighting words, the battle was on.

Awooo!

W
atching Everett battle with Joey was one of those moments of morbid fascination. On the one hand, she wanted to close her eyes and not see the violence and bloodshed. But, at the same time, a part of her wanted to help, to do something more than play the part of frightened spectator.

Not for the first time, she wished her father had encouraged her to learn how to defend herself, but he was an old-school buck who didn’t believe females needed to learn how to fight. She lamented not doing something to teach herself once she’d left home. She so wanted to help Everett. Like a hero from a fairy tale, Everett had come to her rescue, his massive and gorgeous, sleek-furred lupine self, morphing into a bipedal wolfman with massive teeth and claws. Towering taller than usual, he was impressive and vicious looking. Against a normal shifter, she’d wager he would have proven virtually unstoppable. Against Joey with his drug-induced enhancements, though? Even she, with her lack of experience, could tell her poor lover was losing.

Not that he seemed to notice or care. Snarling and snapping, Everett swung at Joey, claws extended. He ripped swathes of leathery skin, leaving deep, stomach-churning furrows, but in a berserker-type rage, the giant gecko didn’t pay his wounds any mind. Joey meted out his own punishment, tearing his own strips of skin and fur from Everett. At one point, he even picked him up and tossed him hard into a tree trunk.

Dazed, Everett lay slumped at the base, groaning, which meant he was alive, but unable to stand. Joey ululated in triumph and stomped over, ready to mete out a final, deadly blow.

Just when it looked as though it was all over for her lover, Tom arrived to the rescue. With a crank of his shotgun, he fired at Joey, the silver shot pebbling Joey’s body and halting his advance. Screaming in rage, Joey dropped to his knees. Tom cocked the weapon for a second shot and advanced on the fallen shifter.

Still recovering from his impromptu flight, Everett moaned and stirred, stunned but not down for the count. Joey hissed at the wolf. “I won’t let you have her!” He struggled to his feet.

Tom took aim, but the gun didn’t fire. “Not now,” Tom grunted, hands yanking and pulling in an effort to unjam his shotgun.

Distracted, he didn’t pay Joey any mind, and Dawn could only scream a warning, “Tom, watch out!”

He heeded her warning, his head rising to spot Joey lunging away from Everett toward him. He swung the shotgun as a club, but Joey proved faster and caught the long barrel in a clawed hand, ripping it free and tossing it to the side. Poor brave Tom, he tried to fight, but he was no match for the lizard. He must have sensed it because he tried to run, but Joey snagged him with his razor-tipped digits, puncturing flesh.

Dawn winced. Wrung her hands. Wished she could help. Do something.

You can.

Her subconscious prodded her. Reminded her that Joey wasn’t the only changed one. How was that supposed to help her?
I don’t know how to fight. What am I supposed to do?

The answer was simple.
Anything I can. Whether it’s in my nature or not, I need to do something, anything. I can’t let them die.

Shifting shapes was easy. Her doe had spent the last week or so since she’d taken up with Everett cooped up in her mind. Her other self bounded out with joy and an eagerness to join the fray that would have made Dawn cringe, but Dawn wasn’t driving anymore.

Massive cloven hoofs pawed at the ground. Steam hissed from her nostrils. Her muscles twitched in anticipation. She lowered her crowned head, her antlers, an unnatural massive rack wider even than her father’s, poised for battle.

She charged.

Whereas human Dawn saw her modified structure, namely the antlers on her head, as a horrible mutation that set her apart from all of her kind, her doe, the new version, who enjoyed a bit of blood sport and mayhem, reveled in them. The monster threatening her mate and his friend never saw her coming. But Tom did, judging by his wide eyes, as did Everett flanking the lizard on the side. Everett jumped away as she speared the lizard from behind.

Ooh the scream that came out of the mutated gecko. He dropped Tom to the ground and tried to reach behind him, but his stubby arms couldn’t grasp anything. He remained skewered.

What should she do with him?

Finish him off.
There was no saving him. His mind was too far gone. And she was in the perfect spot to end the nightmare. She drew on not just her enhanced musculature to lift the wretched lizard but her telekinesis too. Higher and higher she raised her crowned head with the struggling gecko, the ichor dripping and rolling down her horns making her chuff as she pranced with her prize. The barbs on the tips of her antlers dug deeper the more her prey struggled.

The gecko morphed shapes, returning to his man form, still caught on her antlers, blood frothing at his lips.

“Why, Dawn? Why?” he croaked.

The proper answer was because Joey was a murdering monster who needed to be put down like a rabid animal. The real truth though?
Because I love the wolf, and this abomination dared hurt him.

With a mighty toss of her head, she flung the punctured body out over the abyss and watched as her foe bounced off the rocks before plunging into the raging river below.