Page 28 of Shifting Years (Whispering Hills #5)

My quick smile conveyed appreciation, even if I didn't believe it. "I thought being a thinker would solve my problems, but Todd went out and did what needed to be done. Me? I asked others to solve everything for me."

"I don't think that's true. So, what did Tina and Dawn charge?"

"Books with lovers' stories. Supposedly, Todd and I were to fill them out, starting in the eighties, but he's well, you know. They asked… told us to make scrapbooks of Alpha and Omegas who need help."

He paused, thinking. "Not a bad price. My boy Wyatt should have his Omega by then."

It seemed there was something to say, but I couldn't remember. Am I under a spell like when Henry didn't know about Angel?

Seconds ticked by and he already told me what I needed to do.

"I'm going out there," I said. Other men searched and Todd went to Vietnam. I was done with reading about fighters. I had my own story.

The faint dusty concern wafted from him. Not as strong as I'd smell from a mate but still appreciated. With a deep exhale, I unlocked the door and slid out of the vinyl seat. Gooseflesh instantly rose and Bobby's smiling face popped back into my head.

My old friend said he'd get a tingle when he was in the wrong part of LA, or wrong for him .

If he stayed, a police car would roll along, with an officer asking about his business.

Can't say if it were the same, but I knew if I ran back to the truck, everything would be okay.

Well, as much as it can without my Angel.

I marched forward, not unlike a soldier. With every step, I dropped dashes of pepper, garlic, and other assorted spices.

If not for the thought of a giant armored worm, and the stench of rotting flesh, the campground might have seemed peaceful.

It was late dusk, but shifter sight showed colors with subtle shades in the shadows.

Behind the two log cabins was a large lake and lots of trees.

Water and forest critters could sustain a worm for years.

My power is to know what people need, but not where to go. A shifter wouldn't win against a monster, but once a man did. "Henry!" I shouted. "I want you to know my real Alpha's back. Todd's here and he'll defend what's his. You don't own me. He does!"

Lies don't work around shifters. But Henry? He wasn't a wolf anymore.

"I'm coming to take my daughter away from you!"

I can hear hummingbirds in the distance, or squirrels dropping acorns on soft ground.

With his weight and school bus length, I should have heard something as he approached.

I flew to the side as if a VW Bug slammed into me.

My inner beast screamed for me to change but he might not recognize my Other.

If I hadn't seen him transform weeks earlier, I wouldn't have recognized the twenty-foot-long 'thing' with metallic armor and clicking mandibles. They weren't random clicks and had a language pattern I couldn't understand.

"I'm here to take her away!"

Henry's circular mouth opened, his curved teeth spinning like a fan of razors. The hurricane-force wind drew me toward him. Man or wolf wouldn't survive. I'd join Doctor King and Bobby Kennedy, not because I did anything great, but because I'd die like them.

Or will I?

Tina and Dawn said I'd hear people's stories and the eighties weren't here yet.

That means I live!

I leapt low and forward, missing most of Henry's wind, while my fingers dug into grooves along his segmented, metallic back.

In Venice Beach, there were musclemen so defined they couldn't scratch their backs, and it was the same here.

Circular teeth bit air as his tail stopped several feet from my back as if the metal wouldn't let him curve further.

In the nighttime air, red, brown, blond, white, and black-furred wolves flew. Just as fast, they bounced back from their armored prey with a yelp or worse, no sound.

I held on for a distraction while fewer shifters returned, grabbing spots with their teeth.

Henry thrashed back and forth, smashing furry flesh to the ground.

He shook like a dog after a bath and threw me back against a cabin with splintered wood tearing into my flesh.

On the ground where humans died earlier, shifters lay and Henry's circular mouth full of teeth munched away.

A few were aware of the experience. The lucky ones passed away earlier.

Something sharp and electric poked at my organs as I fought to stand. Changing into my wolf wouldn't cure the damage and I was the weakest here. Todd beat him without most of his powers. What would he do?

I couldn't wish after what happened, but I sure imagined.

If anyone thought about what could be, it was me.

A hell of a lot of visualization and desperation popped Todd into mental existence.

He appeared in an army uniform which turned into green fatigues as he surveyed the battle.

His dark green eyes were haunted somehow.

He wasn't here, just the hope of someone who wanted to save others and see his lover again.

His flat palm went out in a salute, and he stood at attention.

Defined chest muscles pushed out against his camo.

"Your men are dying, soldier! Are you going to lay there, Private?

Assess the battlefield! Shifter tactics do not work, nor does overwhelming force.

We have an enemy who fights a different kind of war. "

Men and wolves lay on the ground while others were nothing more than chewed flesh. None had a handlebar mustache. Either our sheriff was outside my vision or already eaten.

The bayou ladies said Wyatt would have heartbreak and I hoped I didn't kill someone's father. Yet, there were dead shifters, and several would cry today for Alphas they'd never see again.

With a body-convulsing shake, I stood and spat several times on my shirt.

Then I dusted it with spices. In the dark lay a baseball-sized rock.

A twist-tie later created a sling with a stone inside.

"I'm going after my daughter!" Off the rock with my shirt and scent flew toward the dock.

Henry slithered backward, the metallic scrape of his armored body echoed through the trees. Then he inhaled, searching for me.

It bought a moment, and I breathed in fresh copper scents, along with the sickly-sweet death smell. Male faces I recognized stared back from the ground with empty eyes.

"Focus, soldier. Use your resources!" screamed Todd.

I spun and in the distance was the handlebar mustache sheriff. His arm was broken, and a white and red bone stabbed through.

For a second, I paused hearing no other wolves except for Henry sniffing with an airplane engine-level noise at the dock.

The sheriff spoke with a bloody mouthful. "G-go."

"A soldier never leaves his men!" said Todd.

"I never said I would! Give me a second, okay?" Even an imagined Todd was argumentative.

Quickly but gently, I picked up the only other survivor and ran to the truck. I could drive back and be a hero. The town would see an Omega who saved one of their own. Nobody would blame me. Hell, it was the smart thing. A group of shifters died against Henry. What could I do?

"Soldier!" screamed Todd. "Will you do something? "

"Stop calling me that! I don't have a flamethrower, rockets, or airstrikes. That's what we need! "

"The military uses what it has and not what it wishes it had. You are in a metal vehicle. Must I spell it out to you, Private?"

I gasped. Henry was still at the docks but slowly slithering further down the walkway toward the water. He could smell and hear, but I never saw proof he could see.

One way to be sure.

I floored the gas. The truck roared forward, bouncing violently over rough terrain, headlights cutting through the dark.

"Smart…" The sheriff then slumped over.

The lake, dock, and a metallic worm came fast. Maybe Henry was more of a snake. Who else would take someone's daughter?

Well, me but I didn't do it like this.

My right hand held the sheriff back and we crashed into Henry, crumbling the truck's front, and throwing an armored worm past the dock. He shrieked like a banshee as he sunk further into the water, thrashing until he was gone. One minute became two and yet he moved under the waves, still alive.

Dammit.

"Tactical retreat, soldier." Todd stood outside the truck, pointing up the hill.

My hand went out and I could almost believe something pushed back for an instant. "What's my favorite show?"

"I don't remember."

"Yeah, stupid me." The real Todd would know how much I loved Star Trek , but not this mental creation.

Unlike younger Todd's car, the truck still ran. I reversed until we caught a small breeze blowing our scent away from the dock. I got out. Quickly, I searched the dock, finding nothing that belonged to a little girl or a tiny body. Nor did I find anyone else alive.

***

"I got another truck the next day and searched again," I said to Kim's obvious question.

"Was your daughter there?"

I shook my head sadly. "Henry was still there, lurking beneath the surface. Trapped, but not dead." I paused while my throat burned. "Angel was a ghost."

Todd pulled me in for a hug as I continued. "I still don't know if it was the right decision."

"You… we did the best we could with what we knew back then."

"We lost her, Todd."

Kim sensed he shouldn't ask me more questions and turned to Todd. "Were you still away?"

Todd exhaled, his voice heavy. "Like before… I got there too late. And when I finally did, I had nothing. Not even my memory."

***