Chapter 27
When she screamed, the Megalya standing over Thea actually grinned as if he liked the sound before squatting beside her. Two more Megalya came from out of nowhere. Thea clamped her mouth shut and watched as they studied her a little too curiously. One circled down near her feet, and one stopped beside the other who was squatted near her head. When the other two squatted, Thea tried to recoil away, but hands shot out. The Megalya by her feet grabbed her ankles while one of the other two grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head. The third Megalya leaned over her and started sniffing. At first, Thea was afraid to scream, because they’d seemed to enjoy it so much, but when the Megalya sniffing her pressed his face between her breasts and then slowly snuffled his way down to her belly, she gave in and screamed for all she was worth.
“NOOOO! MARKOOOOOOOOO!”
The Megalya at her belly disappeared. One second he was there and the next he was gone. Gunfire erupted, but the Megalya at her feet disappeared as quickly as the first.
Thea’s head whipped around as she tried to figure out what was happening. The Megalya holding her hands snarled, but he was looking around too.
The snow swirled and caught her attention, and Thea squinted against the flakes blasting against her face and stinging her cheeks. She blinked rapidly and squinted harder. That’s not snow!
Something was moving…
Her eyes rounded and her mouth fell open as what looked like a behemoth abominable snowman rushed them. When the Megalya released her, Thea knew she should scramble to her feet and try and escape, but she was transfixed. The beast coming toward them moved like a giant silverback. Muscled arms tapered down to clawed hands whose knuckles hit the ground hard with each stride as it pushed off its thickly muscled back legs. Its fur was short and whiter than any fur she’d ever seen. It grew long around the beast’s shoulders, hips, and maw, but tapered thinner around the pale face that stared menacingly at the Megalya with icy clear eyes.
The Megalya charged the beast, and just when Thea thought they’d crash together, the beast stopped, planted his feet and grabbed the Megalya. Twisting at the torso with a power Thea couldn’t believe, the beast sent the Megalya sailing thirty feet through the air until his body crashed against a sturdy pine with a sickening crack. The Megalya hit the ground and didn’t move again.
Breath chugging out of her in puffs like a freight train, Thea tore her eyes from the Megalya and looked at the beast. And the beast was looking at her.
Fear was beating a war song in her belly, and this was no frantic flap of butterfly wings. No, a goddamn caged silverback was thrashing around in her middle, trying to goad her into action.
The snow started falling harder, and Thea finally scrambled up from her prone position to her knees. She didn’t even have time to try to get to her feet before the beast was on her. He’d moved so fast that he’d blurred and too afraid to scream, Thea yelped as she was pushed to her back. Shaking uncontrollably, her eyes searched the tree line for Marko or the Skin Walkers. The thought that they might all be dead had a whimper escaping her lips as she looked back at the beast who pressed against her and snuffled at her hair and neck. Apparently, she either smelled really good or really bad because monsters could stop sniffing her.
“P-please,” she stammered, settling a shaking hand on the beast’s chest.
He pulled back fast, and Thea tensed. They stared at each other for long minutes. Something about him felt so damn familiar.
Quick as a flash, the beast had Thea up and in his arms as he started walking into the blizzard leaving Marko, the dead Megalya, the downed chopper, and the injured Skin Walkers behind.
“No,” Thea pleaded softly, but the beast kept on walking. “NO!” she said more loudly but froze when she heard a strange pop.
The beast snarled and spun so fast that Thea had to pinch her eyes and clamp a hand over her belly to keep from being sick. When the beast roared, Thea’s eyes shot open, and she saw King and his men standing in a line. All of them had their weapons drawn and pointed at her and the beast.
“Put her down and back away.”
The beast roared again and took a challenging step toward King before stopping and looking down at her, as if only just now realizing that he couldn’t fight and hold her at the same time.
King bellowed, “NOW, MARKO!”
Thea’s eyes tracked the line of Walker Sentries, expecting Marko to jump out and do something. That didn’t happen. In fact, none of the Skin Walkers’ attention left the beast holding her. It was then that realization dawned.
Thea’s heart stopped as her eyes slid from King up to the face of the beast holding her. Marko?
His concentration was still on King who asked calmly, “You get him with that tranq, Conn?”
Another group of Sentries stepped from the tree line. One of them who had a wicked scar down his face answered, “Yeah. I got him.”
“Holy shit!” one of the new Walkers exclaimed lowering his weapon to blatantly stare. “What in the piss is that?”
The one called Conn barked, “Shoulder your goddamn weapon, James.”
The amazed guy did but still stared at them in awe. “Marko’s a yeti?” His weapon dipped as he smiled at his Commander. “A motherfucking yeti? Oooooh, he’s so gonna teach me that shift!”
Marko roared loudly and took a step, but this time he staggered.
King directed, “Hit him again, Conn.”
Another loud pop sounded, and Marko spun giving the teams his back to protect Thea. She recognized it now. That’s what he was doing. He was protecting her.
Marko’s back arched, and he snarled as he started running with her. Behind them, she heard King shout, “Goddamn he’s strong. Hit him again. We can’t let him get away.”
There was another pop and then another as Marko raced away. A few hundred yards later, he staggered to a walk and then one of his knees buckled. Thea shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was worried about him passing out and crushing her and the baby, but she didn’t know what else to do besides hold on.
Marko’s head dipped lazily, and his crystalline eyes slid to hers. When he blinked an explosion of color filled them. It wasn’t just any color either. It was the dark, whiskey color of Marko’s eyes.
Groaning, he lowered his other knee, and as his eyes rolled back in his head, he twisted his body and palmed Thea’s head to protect her from the impact as his body hit the ground.
The Skin Walker teams rushed them, but Thea didn’t care. Before they got to her, she rolled off Marko’s body and crawled up his chest to cup his cheek. He’d saved her…again.