Tyler's Story (Tales of Quelondain) (8 page)

“You’re sure you’re alright?” He took her face in his
hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“I… I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

He flashed her a crooked grin. “You’re stuck with me
for a bit yet, my lovely wife.” He kissed her softly, his lips
brushing lightly against hers. He meant to do it quickly; a man
who’d just found his mate in a strange world would kiss her, yeah?
What he hadn’t planned on was her little gasp of surprise, or the
way she hesitantly ran her fingers through his hair until they were
laced behind his head. He moved to get better access to her mouth
and her breath hitched which caused his heart to jump. He forgot
about the people watching. His tongue met hers and his groan
vibrated through both of them.

Someone cleared their throat and Tyler pulled back
slowly, his forehead still against hers.

“Sorry,” he whispered. He closed his eyes as she
played with his hair.

“You wouldn’t be a very good husband of you hadn’t,”
she whispered back. She hugged him tightly.

Tyler looked over her head to Garry. “I’m assuming
you’ve walked the perimeter line?”

Garry nodded. “There’re no weak spots in this blasted
fence and no trees close enough to try and jump over without
catching on those thorns.”

“Yeah, those thorns are something else.” He glanced
down to his clothes which were a bit worse for wear since his climb
over the fence.

“I thought you said you’d been captured.” Nathan was
frowning.

“Actually, I never specified how I got in here.” He
ran his teeth over his bottom lip as he thought. “Well, we can’t
get the children over those thorns. Have you tried digging?”

“Wait…” Garry eyes were saucers in his head. “You
climbed in here? On purpose? Why the hell would you do that?”

“I came for Heidi and now that I have her, I’ve got
to think on how we’ll get out again.”

A ruckus sounded behind them and everyone turned to
see who or what was going to be coming out of the woods.

“There he is! All humans who wish to live, get back
in your tents!” Vic glared at Tyler. “You damn near broke my jaw,
you bastard!”

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill you for putting her in
here.”

If any of the humans had thought of hiding, their
curiosity now had the best of them and they gaped at Tyler.

“She’s human!” Vic said the word like it left a
bitter taste in his mouth.

“And if I gave a damn about that, I’d have left her
here!” Tyler pulled his dagger and handed it to Heidi. “I don’t
care if they’re Maj or human, Heidi. If anyone tries to take you,
you cut them.” He dropped his pack to the ground and stepped
forward.

“You’re willing to die for her?”

“I’m willing to die for them. This is wrong! By the
moons, you’ve put little ones in here! If they’re rogues, then
fine, but most of these just had the misfortune to cross over.”

“They’re human,” repeated Vic, as though this was
enough of an explanation.

“Heidi, you remember what I said?” He looked back to
her when she didn’t answer. She looked so scared.

“Tyler?” Her grey green eyes met his. “Thank you, for
trying to help me.” She bent down, took the dagger he’d given her
out from under her pant leg, and tossed his back to him. “Be
careful, please.” She swallowed hard and crouched down in a
defensive pose.

He nodded and turned back to Vic. “You don’t want to
do this.”

“It’s five against one, Tyler. Do you really think
you can win? I’ll make you a deal. Come back out with us and I’ll
let you visit her every other day. Through the gate, of
course.”

“How about I make you a deal, Vic. Let all of us go
and when I get out, I won’t go to Rainen to tell her what you’re
doing here.”

The guards all gave a collective grunt. Vic’s
expression went from amused to unsure. Heidi knew from having seen
it that Tyler had just gotten that look in his eyes; the one that
made her slightly afraid of him.

Tyler shifted and the humans who hadn’t caught on yet
gasped at the sight of the large grey wolf now standing between
them and the guards.

“Is he protecting us?” one woman whispered.

He launched himself at Vic with no warning. Heidi
screamed as four other dogs jumped on top of them.

“Tyler!”

A dog yelped and tears flooded Heidi’s eyes. Another
whine pierced the air. This was quickly followed by a bellow of
rage. A coyote fell backward through the air, its throat slit.
Tyler’s thick frame emerged from the chaos. He spun and drove his
shoulder into a black wolf. A fox clamped its teeth around his
forearm.

Tyler’s eyes met Heidi’s as he was dragged back
under. He clenched his teeth to keep from crying out as the fox’s
teeth ripped through the skin.

Heidi screamed something he couldn’t hear under all
the growling. He shifted and managed to clamp his jaws around
someone’s leg. Whoever had a hold of his leg let go and he was able
to maneuver enough to clamp his jaws around Vic’s throat. He pulled
back with a few jerky shakes of his head and felt the blood fill
his mouth. Someone else screamed in pain and the coyote he was
holding onto managed to free himself and run.

Tyler shifted back, searching for his dagger. He
couldn’t let any of them get back to the gates. He couldn’t stop
the whine as he turned into his wolf. He pushed himself forward,
chasing after the coyote. The guard glanced backward over his
shoulder and tried to pick up speed as the wolf caught up to him.
Tyler slammed into him with his shoulder, sending both of them
crashing to the ground. He slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled
out the pocket knife he’d gotten from his aunt and uncle, and
stabbed it into the man’s throat.

Tyler fell onto his back and tried to catch his
breath. Bloody hell, was Heidi alright? He stumbled to his feet and
ran back toward the camp, dragging his right leg. His heart dropped
at the sight of Heidi lying on her back, covered in blood.

“Heidi!”

A few of the people gathered around her cried out at
the sight of him. He ignored them and pulled her onto his lap.

“Heidi… come on, Heidi. Speak to me.” He brushed the
hair out of her face and placed his lips softly against her
forehead. He swallowed hard. “Heidi, please.”

His heart jumped at the feel of her fingers on his
cheek. “Thank the moons,” he whispered. Heidi threw her arms around
his neck and hugged him close. Her sobs raked through her.

“Shush, now. It’s alright. I’m here.”

“I thought you were dead!”

He pulled back and smiled at her. “I’m much harder to
get rid of than that.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “What
about you? Where are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “I’m ok. Just my head hurts where
he hit me.”

He growled. “Who hit you? Whose blood is this?”

“I don’t know who. One of the coyotes. He was on top
of you… They were all on top of you.” Her voice hitched in her
throat as another sob shook her. “I jumped on him and stabbed as
hard as I could. When he jerked back his head hit mine…”

Tyler stared at her, speechless.

She frowned. “Are you mad?”

He blinked. “No.” A smiled tugged at his lips until
he was grinning. “By the moons, why would I be angry? On the
contrary.” He bent and kissed the tip of her nose. “I am very proud
of you. You handled yourself very well.”

She blushed and he thought it might have been the
most adorable thing he’d ever seen. Her hand touched one of the
bites on his arm and he tried not to flinch.

“Oh, my god, I’m so sorry. You’re hurt.” Heidi
scrambled off of him, her eyes wide as she took in all of the
damage. “I… I need water.” She looked from one person to another.
Everyone refused to meet her gaze.

“He saved you!” Heidi’s anger started to swell in the
pit of her stomach. “He took on five of his own kind because he
feels you don’t deserve to live like this!”

“He’s still one of them,” mumbled one of them
men.

“And now you sound just like the head guard, don’t
you?” Nathan glanced down to Tyler who was lying on his back. “Hey,
buddy, are you gonna make it?”

Tyler grunted. “Like I told Heidi… It takes more than
that to get rid of me. I could use a pail of water and some
bandages if you have any.”

Nathan nodded and went to fetch the things he
needed.

“Heidi, can you search through my pack and find my
bag of herbs, please.” He closed his eyes and listened to her move
around. “How many of you are here?”

“Twenty-seven.”

Tyler recognized Garry’s voice.

“Can you all travel?”

“We don’t have anywhere to go.”

Tyler cracked open an eye and looked around. His side
was starting to ache, the bite on his forearm was bleeding, and his
leg was going to hurt for a while where the dagger had stabbed into
his calf. Everything else was minor. Scrapes, bruises, small cuts
and scratches. He’d gotten away lucky. Everyone was looking at him
with a combination of fear and awe. He couldn’t blame them. Heidi
moved into his field of vision and he smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry, Heidi.”

“What? Why would you be sorry?”

“For leaving you at the creek. I should have worried
about the fire after you were done.”

“Tyler, you came for me. I don’t know how you got in
here, but you did, and you killed five shifters to protect me. You
don’t have to say sorry.”

“Four.”

“What?”

“I killed four. You killed the last one.” He grinned
and pulled her down so he could kiss her forehead. Nathan arrived
with the water and bandages.

“Garry?” Tyler looked around for the man. “Get
everyone to pack only what they can carry.”

“But…”

“Do you want to stay here?”

Garry frowned. “No.”

“I have a plan, don’t worry. Just get things ready to
go while I get put back together.”

Garry nodded and started to give out orders. Tyler
pulled the torn tunic over his head and heard Heidi gasp. She stood
before him, her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide.”

“It’s just a couple of scratches…” He stopped when he
realized she was looking at the scar that ran in a crooked diagonal
from his shoulder to his hip. He waved away her concern. “It’s an
old injury.” He turned. “How’s my back?”

“A few scratches…” She took the cloth from him and
gently cleaned the cuts. Once he was bandaged and in clean clothes,
she gazed at him as he chatted with Nathan. Tyler caught her
look.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… I just can’t believe you came for me.” A tear
slipped down her face and he wiped it with his thumb.

“You thought I’d just leave you.” It wasn’t a
question. His chest hurt at her nod. “Heidi… Heidi, look at me.” He
tilted her face up with his fingers. “I promised I’d take care of
you. I meant it. Until I can find a way to get you home, you’re
mine to watch over.”

Heidi gazed up into his deep brown eyes and watched
as the hard look melted into something softer. Her heart
skipped.

“So what’s the plan, chum?” Garry stood with the rest
of the humans behind him, all of them ready to travel.

Tyler smiled. “The plan is to walk out of here.” He
scooped all of the guard’s daggers and handed them to those who had
some experience with them.

“You think they’ll just let us walk away?”

Tyler grinned, took Heidi by the hand, and led the
way to the gate. As he’d expected, the next shift hadn’t appeared
to find out what had happened.

“Here’s what I want you to do.” Tyler looked from
Nathan to Garry. “Head straight north. Travel as much as you can
and get as far from here as you can. You’ll come to the Blue Woods.
Keep heading north. I know it will be hard, but until you reach the
Blue Woods, avoid other beings at all cost unless they’re Wedelves.
Once you’ve reached the Blue Woods, if you happen to see anyone,
here’s what you need to say. Tell them you’re on your way to
Sageden and that you are looking to find Hayden and Jasper. Make
sure you tell them that you were sent by their nephew, Tyler.”

Everyone gathered around repeated this back to him
and he nodded. “Good. I wish I could do more…”

Nathan cut him off. “You’ve done plenty. Thank
you.”

Tyler smiled. “Stay safe.”

Everyone scattered before they could be discovered,
the humans heading north and Tyler and Heidi starting their journey
to Growlen. He took her hand and grinned.

“What?”

“I’m glad you’re alright.” He let go of her hand and
started to jog. “Come along. Let’s see how far away from here we
can get.”

She nodded and followed his lead.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Tyler, you need to rest.”

“I’m fine.”

Heidi grabbed a hold of his arm and stopped him.
“We’ve been moving for two days now and you can barely put any
weight on your leg.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not!” She picked a large tree and promptly
sat down at its base. “I’m not moving until you let me look at your
cuts.”

Tyler rolled his eyes and tried to hide his limp as
he joined her. He leaned back against the tree, took a drink from
his canteen, and handed it to her. His leg throbbed and he had to
admit he was glad she’d made him stop.

“It has to be almost time to make camp anyways,
right?”

“I was hoping to go another hour before we
stopped.”

“But here will work?”

He glanced around and nodded. “If you insist.”

“I do.” She smiled. “Now, sit there and I’ll set up
camp.”

“Heidi…”

“Shush. I am ordering you to sit there and do nothing
for a change. I’m quite capable of making a fire and laying out
blankets.”

Tyler watched as she busied herself digging a small
hole in the ground to make the fire in. It took her two strikes
with the flints to get the spark to catch. Heidi wiped the hair out
of her face and blushed when she realized he was watching her.