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I yelped and held on. “You’re shot.”
“I’m fine,” he lied.
We were soon out of range of their weapons, but Gunnar was struggling to stay in the air. In the trees below us, I thought I saw a flash of orange and black, but when I looked again, it was gone.
Gunnar landed, managing to put me down before he braced himself against a tree. There were more than a few holes in the membrane of his wings. There were several bullet holes in his body, and a tranquilizer dart was sticking out of his thigh. I grabbed him, trying to help him move to the next tree. He stumbled a few more steps before dropping to his knees.
“Fuck,” he grumbled as he slumped against the trunk. “Backup should be here soon. I’m sorry, Kitten.”
“For what? Don’t be. You saved me.”
“Not yet. They’ll still be looking for you.” He cupped my face with one palm, then shoved something cold and hard into my hands. It was a gun. “Safety’s on the side. Just point and shoot. Now go. Run. Get away from here.”
“No way!” I clung to him. “I’m not leaving you.” I was afraid they’d finish the job if they found him.
His hands dropped from my face. “Go, Kitten. I love you. Please. I need you to be safe.” His last words were soft and slurred.
The sound of shouting men echoed through the forest, but it was his barely audible I love you that rang out the loudest in my head. Happy tears welled in my eyes.
“I love you too, Gunnar.” I crawled over his body and kissed him, even as his lips and body went limp and his eyes fell closed.
If he thought I was going to run and leave him behind, he was wrong. And no, I wasn’t being stupid. I couldn’t have run even if I wanted to. My ankle had started to swell, and there was no way I would get very far. I’d leave him unprotectedandget caught anyway. It’d be lose-lose.
Nope. I was staying, and I was fighting.
I positioned myself in front of my mate and switched off the safety on the gun. I’d only been to the shooting range once with my ex, and that was years and years ago. My aim with anything other than a rifle was horrendous; the long barrel made aiming so much easier. A handgun like this? I bet I’d be all over the place. But they didn’t need to know that.
The first of our enemies came into view.
“You again?” He sounded annoyed. “Just come over here, and I won’t hurt you.”
I aimed and shot at him.
“Fuck!” He scrambled behind a tree. “The bitch is armed.”
He poked his head out from behind the tree, and I aimed again. To my surprise, this one actually hit the tree he was hiding behind, mere inches from his face.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to the tree. Then I had an idea.
I tried to focus on the plants around him, looking for more kudzu or other vining plants. Trees took too much energy to grow, and I was already tired. “Grow,” I whispered to the smaller plants around him.
At first, nothing happened. Then there was cursing from behind the tree, and he scrambled away from his hiding place. I aimed and shot at him again. I didn’t hit him, but the shot made him duck behind the tree again, where my vines were.
“Fuck! The fucking bitch is a witch!”
“Grow. Grow.Grow,” I pleaded, hoping to catch him there and restrain him before he could get away.
When he started screaming for help because he was stuck, I stopped the spell to conserve energy. Unfortunately, all his screams called his friends over. There were several of them now. And I doubted my one little gun could make a difference against all of them. I also really wasn’t sure how much more magic I had. I was tired from the escape.
“Give up, little cat. You’re surrounded,” one of them shouted.
The men approached, but then unexpectedly, one of them stumbled back, and then another.
“Oh shit,” someone sputtered.
There, slinking out from the trees behind me on silent paws, were all my new friends. I stood a little taller and aimed my gun at the nearest asshat as the snow leopard and the lion came to stand beside me.
Then, from the other side, came three more shifters I didn’t remember seeing in the yard. Another snow leopard and two wolves. Where had they come from? Somehow, despite never seeing them before, they looked familiar, especially the snow leopard.
