Page 16 of Enforcer’s Little Warrior (Little Paws Haven #3)
Romy
His rhino was in a stampede heading through the tunnel when it caught the scent of their mate. It didn’t hesitate, snorting and chuffing as he charged. The sound of crashing came with a sudden light pouring down from above.
Romy skidded to a halt. Was this a trick?
In the past, they’d done all sorts of things to make him believe shit that wasn’t real. Was this the case now? Would he reveal himself and then get attacked because he’d gotten conned?
His rhino was a simple creature. It wanted its mate, and he could smell him and therefore they should keep going. But Romy had learned the hard way some things weren’t always what they seemed. In his rhino form, there seemed to be some barrier preventing him from talking to Bash, so he made a decision and shifted back.
It’s going to be okay.
It’s going to be okay.
Naked and shaking, he crept forward, staying within the shadows, listening carefully and avoiding the splintered wood on the dirt floor.
You can do this. He took a deep breath and peeked up at the hole. Seeing the sky made Romy feel a little better as he inhaled and got a whiff of blood that was his mates. Daddyyyyyyy, he wailed through their connection.
Romy! Romy, where are you?
The frantic response actually calmed him, despite how Bash sounded. Underground, Daddy, I can see daylight now above me. I can smell you bleedin’. He sniffed, his eyes leaking tears because it meant Bash really had to have hurt himself.
It’s okay, Daddy has a couple of injuries. Look up, Little Bumper, I’m going to look over the edge of the hole so I can see.
Romy edged back and there, peering over the edge, was Bash’s rhino. In all of Romy’s life, he’d never felt happier to see someone. A special someone who had come looking for him. Who’d come to save him and even injured hadn’t given up.
“Daddy,” he sobbed out, “I need you.”
Next thing there was Bash’s gorgeous face peering down at him, along with Arlo, one of the other enforcers.
Bash seemed at a loss for words as Arlo looked around, his dark gaze focused on their surroundings as he called, “Is there anything there that we can use to pull you out?”
Then a sound came from the direction that Romy had been held. He shook as his fear rolled back over him. Someone’s down here with me . They’ve come back to get me!
Keep back against the wall in the shadows. I will not let anyone hurt you.
Bash’s reassuring voice helped quell some of the fear as Romy slunk back and pressed against the wall. Doing his best to keep his breathing slow and even as there was a noise from above and other noises coming from the tunnel.
Dirt fell from above, scattering over the floor, sounding like it was raining. A root of a tree lowered down through the hole a moment later, dangling close to where he was.
Grab this and hold on.
Okay. He slunk forward until he was right under the hole, grabbed the dirt cover root. Got it. Something whizzed past Romy’s ear as he got jerked up off the ground without any preamble. The arrow hit the wall and imbedded in. Romy wheezed at the close call as he sailed through the air to the sound of vicious curses from below him.
His feet hardly hit the ground when he shouted, “Watch out! Someone’s firing arrows.”
Scooped up at a run, Bash was off and darting for the trees. Romy buried his face into Bash’s neck and clung on. There were the sounds of thundering hooves as Arlo stayed behind them, protecting their rear.
Once in the tree line, they still weren’t safe, and Romy didn’t let go of Bash’s neck as he bobbed up and down at the frantic movement. He wasn’t sure how long they were moving or where they even were when Bash finally stopped. He sank to the ground and carefully placed Romy on the impacted earth, then retched madly on the ground, his large body heaving.
It was then that Romy noticed the gaping wound on Bash’s flank. Blood pumped from it.
“Shift, Daddy. Shift now,” he demanded, knowing it had to happen, or he’d lose Bash, holding back the need to cry with terror, knowing it wouldn’t help. Bash’s safety was all he could think about.
Arlo came to a stop and laid his horn on Bash’s shoulder, giving him a hard knock. “Alright,” Bash gasped, “give me a fucking second.”
Hurry Daddy.
Hurry.
The air shimmied, and there was Bash’s rhino snorting. Romy didn’t get more than a chance to release a breath when he heard someone running towards them.
Oh fuck, what now!
Bash’s words filled his head as he staggered to his feet and Romy rose too, prepared to fight for his mate to his last breath. He shifted and snorted, his horns ready to do battle.
Bash
There was no time to think of the pain he was in, or the terror that was rolling off Romy, all he could focus on was finding the energy to get them to safety and away from whatever it was that was coming for them.
Arlo let out a loud chuff and Bash nudged Romy between them, so he’d have protection from both sides. They were in unfamiliar territory and his sense of direction had grown scrambled with all the twisting turns they’d made in the effort to track his mate.
The last thing he expected was the earth-shaking rumble that announced the arrival of reinforcements in the form of several additional crash enforcers. The blood dripping from the initial arrow wound had no doubt given them a path to follow. Coupled with the way he’d started gushing blood after Arlo had yanked him backwards by the tail, tracking them had probably been an effortless task.
As they circled around them now, creating a protective wall against their enemies, he was grateful for the damage, despite the lightheadedness that was beginning to creep in. With all the noise, it was impossible to tell if whatever had been chasing them was still lurking nearby, but at least now, they wouldn’t have to face that danger alone. Romy was safe, and he’d stay that way, goddamn it.
Anger warred with exhaustion, and he snorted and stomped the ground, pawing it and kicking up dust. Several of the others did the same, all preparing to charge as a unit the moment whatever it was made itself known. When the attack came, it didn’t come from the forest in front of them, but from the trees above them. Arrows rained down on them. Razor sharp, they sliced even their tough hides when they landed, but fortunately, they could not penetrate too deep. Even the arrowhead still imbedded in his ass had not traveled far enough into his body to do significant harm. Most glanced off, deflected by the thickness of their skin and their movement. But it certainly put them at a disadvantage when it came to fighting back.
Bash looked at the trees surrounding them. They were old and thick, too thick for even a charging Rhino to fell. All they’d accomplish was knocking themselves silly attempting it, leaving themselves even more vulnerable.
With Arlo leading, they made the decision to retreat as swiftly as possible, back to their crash lands. Being able to fire arrows hopefully meant that their attackers had hands, though after what they’d seen with the mutated owls, there was no telling what was in those trees and unfortunately, they were ill-equipped to find out. Unlike Cosmo and his mates, they couldn’t stalk their advisories from the trees and level the playing field that way.
Fuck, even in their human forms, most of them weren’t good climbers. Whirling with Romy at his side, Bash followed the lead enforcers as they crashed through brush and wove past trees, the crack of old, fallen branches breaking beneath their feet. Shrubs got leveled, and several smaller animals fled before them, trying to keep out of the way of their heavy hooves. In another situation, it might even have been comical, but as Bash floundered and struggled to keep up, he realized he might not get to experience that humorous moment, or any other, if they couldn’t find a way to defeat this enemy.
How many had fired upon them was unknown. Who and what they were was also unknown. He hated it. He feared it for Romy.
They needed reinforcement and calling on Harley, Nomad and Cosmo was going to have to be something their crash leader considered, among other courses of action, once they’d reported this attack to him. That Romy had been snatched off crash lands was infuriating enough, but that it had happened so close to the community center, where the most vulnerable members of their crash spent a great deal of time, was simply intolerable.
Bash understood that for the protection of their people, they would need to gather in the great stone cavern at the southern edge of their grounds. The rocks there would provide protection and put them out of reach of the trees. The depth and span of the cavern meant the entire crash could fit.
For years, they’d stored supplies and material there to ensure that their needs could and would be met. It would be the best place for all of them and Bash dearly hoped their alpha would give the order, though he wasn’t sure he’d be up to making the trek upright. As it was, his eyelids felt heavy and his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, only Romy was still running, and his mate’s Rhino was constantly encouraging his to keep moving.
Then he saw it, just ahead, the edge of their crash lands and more of their brethren waiting to help defend them. Romy was safe. That’s all Bash could think about. Nothing else mattered now, not even the indignity of having to ride to the caverns in the back of a truck rather than in the driver’s seat. Relief poured through him the moment they were safely behind the line.
He swung his head around to nuzzle Romy, inhaling the mingled scent of him and his mate and chuffing with relief. Stubborn pride kept him from leaning against his boy, even as his body trembled, and he felt his knees try to buckle. Stiffening his spine, he forced himself to stay steady and turn, waiting to see if anything had pursued them. Determined not to let his eyes close until he knew, with one hundred percent certainty, that they’d escaped. He’d already appeared weak in front of his mate, and on more than one occasion, these motherfuckers were not about to be the cause of it happening again.