23. Sean

23

Sean

S awyer and Sean woke up early and decided to go for a run. They stopped on an overlook and looked down over the valley far below where there was a small town.

Speaking telepathically, Sawyer said, "It looks so far away, but I don't think it's that far."

"Reality is so far away. It is a completely different world on this mountain, especially since we are snowed in." Sean paused. "I've finally admitted to myself that Xyla is my fated mate. Who knew that a man could have two in his lifetime?"

Sawyer pawed at the snow. "I'm glad that you let yourself fall in love again. What are you going to do about Elliot?"

"I know. I will tell Xyla how I feel and let her decide between me and her father. I won't pressure her or guilt trip her."

"I hope, for both your sakes, that she chooses wisely."

Sean rubbed against a tree to scratch an itch on his back. "Me, too. I won't put a time limit on her. If she says no now but comes to me in five or ten years, I'll welcome her with open arms."

"You're a patient man."

"I am pretty terrific, aren't I?" Sean tilted his head back and howled.

Sawyer chuckled. "Wow, just wow."

"They should have the roads cleared pretty soon and we do have to get back to reality. Have you made your final decision about whether you're staying in Angel's Creek or reupping a term in Doctors Without Borders?"

"I'm going to stick around. I know that I've made a difference in the world, and I know that millions of people in this world still need help. However, I'm ready to take care of myself and my needs now. Does that sound selfish?"

"No, not at all. You've done more for the people in this world than a lot of people have and didn't expect a pat on the back, recognition, or anything other than the satisfaction of knowing that because of you, another person lives."

"You should be a motivational speaker."

Sean laughed. "I am. Remember, I own a bar. I motivate people all day long. Let's head back. I want to talk to Xyla today."

As they trotted toward the resort, Sean heard Xyla's voice in his mind. "Sean, please save me."

"We need to hurry. Something is wrong."

They ran as fast as they possibly could to their cabin, shifted, dressed, and raced to the main building.

Elliot rushed up to Sean and punched him in the face. "What did you do to my daughter?"

Sawyer grabbed Elliot and slung him across the room. Elliot slammed into the wall and hit the floor with a loud thud.

Sean wiped the blood pouring from his nose. "What in the hell is going on?"

Elliot got to his feet and screamed, "Xyla is missing and it's your fault. You killed her."

Edward ran up to Sean and looked at him worriedly. "Xyla left right after breakfast. She said she was going to our cabin to get a puzzle for us to work on. She hasn't been back since."

Sean and Sawyer went back outside. There was no sign of her.

Sean's stomach dropped and his heart caught in his throat. "This isn't good. We have to find her. I heard her calling for help in my mind."

They hurried to their cabin, stripped, shifted, and ran back out. Sean and Sawyer sniffed the air, trying to catch her scent. The problem was that it was everywhere.

"The freshest scent seems to go toward her cabin," Sean noted.

They cautiously approached her structure and saw where there was another set of prints coming from the tree line and met at the cabin's front door. Following them, the two wolves came to a spot in the woods where the new set of footprints turned into bear tracks and Xyla's prints disappeared.

Xyla's scent was infused with fear. Sean looked down and there were a couple drops of blood in the snow.

"Bear shifters have her," Sean growled.

Sawyer sniffed the tracks and the air. "We know the shifters – Darren and Tristan."

"How did we not pick up on that?"

"They weren't showering. Their human stink masked the scent."

The wolves tracked the bear tracks straight to a hunting shack that was about three miles away. None of the shifters tried to hide their prints.

The bear tracks turned into human prints at the door. Sawyer and Sean looked in the window. Five men were in the shack, two of whom were Tristan and Darren. Xyla sat in a chair in the middle of the room. Darren caressed Xyla's face.

Rage filled Sean.

"Take it easy. You'll get her and us killed if you let your anger take over," Sawyer cautioned.

"We can't bust in there. They'll shift and kill her."

"Let's lure them out and take care of them one at a time."

Sean ducked beside the porch. Sawyer pounded on the door and ran to the other side.

"Who the hell is that? Greg, take care of whoever it is," Darren commanded.

One of the bear shifters stepped onto the porch and looked around. He had a large knife in his hand. Shutting the door behind him, he stepped off the porch and started around the shack toward Sawyer.

Sawyer leaped on him and ripped out the shifter's throat before he could register Sawyer's presence.

After several minutes, Tristan's voice came through the windows. "Where's Greg? Why isn't he back yet?"

"Ted, go find out what's going on. Take the shotgun," Darren ordered.

Sean and Sawyer tensed. A short, stocky man stepped onto the porch and looked around.

"Shut the door."

Ted obeyed, lumbered off the porch, and turned toward Sean. The wolf was ready and leaped.

"What the hell?" Ted yelled.

He tried to hoist the shotgun, but before he could chamber a shell, Sean knocked him over. The shotgun flew through the air. Ted managed to partially shift and swiped at Sean's face with a massive bear paw. The claws tore through Sean's face. He was so enraged that he never felt the pain. Sean rolled him just as he was about to complete the shift and finished Ted off.

Sawyer joined him. "Think you could have made any more noise? What took you so long?"

Sean growled at him.

"Touchy, aren't we?" Sawyer nudged Sean. "That leaves three in there. I'll knock on the door. When one comes out, I'll take care of him, and you go in and take care of the other two."

Nodding his shaggy head, Sean flattened himself against the wall near the door. Sawyer banged on the door.

"Damn it," Darren growled. "Where are Ted and Greg? Mark, check it out." There was a brief pause. "Don't think that anyone is coming to save you. We're still going to party."

"I'll kill you myself," Xyla spat.

That's my girl.

Mark's heavy steps walked toward the door. He stepped onto the porch. Before he could react or shut the door, Sawyer jumped him. Sean dashed inside the shack.

Tristan and Darren gaped at the large wolf streaking toward them. Xyla was tied to a chair although her legs were free. She stood up and twirled the chair around, taking Darren by surprise. The legs of the chair connected with Darren's knees. The bear shifter went down hard. Xyla slammed the chair down, setting one of the legs on his throat. She sat on the chair, putting all her weight on it.

Tristan shifted into a bear. He roared loudly and swiped at Sean's face with a massive paw. He missed. Sean ducked under the bear and ripped a mouthful out of Tristan's stomach.

Whipping around, Tristan ripped four gashes in Sean's side. The wolf rolled and came up under Tristan's throat and latched on. Tristan shook his head, trying to dislodge the large canine, but Sean refused to let go and managed to take the shifter down.

Sawyer rushed in and quickly surveyed the scene. Noting that all of the bear shifters were out of commission, he shifted and raced over to Xyla, untying her. Sean shifted.

Mark had managed to rake Sawyer's face and bit his shoulder before Sawyer ended him, so both men looked a little worse for wear.

"You guys look like hell. What took you so long?"

Sean laughed and tenderly touched her neck where Darren's knife had cut her. "Are you okay? What did he do to you?"

"It was just a little cut. No big deal. I can talk and I didn't bleed out, so I'm all good. A little worried about you, two, though. You're both covered in blood."

"Not all of it is ours," Sean assured her. "They didn't… didn't do anything to you, did they?"

"No, we hadn't been here very long. I remembered you said that shifters could communicate telepathically, even with humans. I hoped that you heard me."

Nodding, Sean smiled at her. "Message received."

Sean eyed Xyla. "Dogs aren't meant to be ridden. Can you walk back? We're about three miles from the resort."

"Of course, I can. I'm fine. Angry, scared, relieved, and a mix of a million other things, but I'm not hurt."

Sawyer broke in. "Great, everyone's fine. I'm freezing to death. Let's get back."

The two men shifted back into wolf form and the three of them walked out of the shack into the brightly lit day. They left the door open so that the wild animals could take care of the shifters. None of them looked back.