Chapter Twelve

 

For the next few days, things were quiet in Bear Hollow. Too quiet. All of the shifters were on edge, glancing over their shoulders and expecting that an angry squadron of Gilt Hollow soldiers was suddenly going to appear and wreak havoc on the town.

But nothing happened. The shifters continued living their lives, hunting and harvesting what still remained in their small gardens, and making final additions to their winter food stores. The days in Bear Hollow were still warm enough to be comfortable, but the nights were quickly turning colder. Winter was coming quickly, and it looked like the shifters were going to be facing another winter while under the oppressive hand of the Gilt Hollow regime.

Axel tried to encourage everyone to hold onto hope. The Shifter Games were coming soon, and the fairytassel sage poison could change everything. But most of the Bear Hollow shifters remained doubtful that this was going to be the big change that was needed. More than one of them told Axel that things were going to get worse before they got better. Axel wouldn’t say it out loud, but he had a feeling they were right. The chill he felt in the air was more than just the soon-coming winter announcing itself. It was the sobering knowledge that after these Games, there would be no more pretending that Bear Hollow was not attempting to bring down Gilt Hollow.

Sure, there had been some hits on the Games already. But nothing that could definitely have been called an offensive attack. Things could have been coincidence. But this—the fairytassel sage poison—could not be written off as coincidence. The Gilt Hollow nobles would not look the other way when the majority of their soldier and guard force suddenly dropped dead.

The day of the Games dawned unusually warm and sunny. It was as though the very sky itself was mocking the Bear Hollow shifters. How could the weather be so beautiful on a day that would bring so much darkness? There would be many deaths today, and Axel feared that the Gilt Hollow soldiers would not be the only deaths. The only hope that the Bear Hollow shifters had of surviving Gilt Hollow’s anger was the fact that so many of the Gilt Hollow soldiers would be dead by the time the Gilt Hollow nobles realized that Bear Hollow had caused so much trouble. At least the fight would be a little more fair than normal. The ragtag group of Bear Hollow shifters didn’t amount to much against the huge, formally trained Gilt Hollow army. But this time, the numbers would be more even, and what the shifters lacked in training, they made up for in heart and muscle.

“It’s quiet,” Whisper said, her voice sounding loud in the empty bar, and underscoring the truth of what she was saying. “Too quiet.”

Axel nodded, turning to look at her as her voice brought him out of his uneasy daydreaming. “I wish you would go hide out in the forest. Kellen would be glad to give you shelter in one of his caves until all of this blows over.”

Whisper frowned at him and shook her head. “I’m not leaving Bear Hollow behind. The fairytassel sage poison was our mission. We have to see it through to the end, and that means we have to be here to help defend Bear Hollow when Gilt Hollow attacks.”

Axel sighed, and went to grab two beer mugs. He started filling them from the tap before he spoke again. “No one is expecting you to be a hero, Whisper. I wish you’d go somewhere safe.”

“You’re still here,” Whisper pointed out as Axel set a mug of beer in front of her. He kept the other mug for himself, taking a long, thirsty sip. It was only eleven in the morning, a bit early to be starting on the beer. But Axel had a feeling there wouldn’t be any celebratory drinking happening later today and tonight. Tonight would be all about survival. Pure survival.

“I can’t leave town. I have to protect my people.”

“It’s the same for me,” Whisper said. “Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I don’t have a responsibility to fight and defend Bear Hollow.”

Axel rubbed his forehead and took a long sip of beer. “It’s not about the fact that you’re a woman. It’s about the fact that you’re my woman. And I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

Whisper’s expression softened somewhat. “I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, I don’t. But I have to tell myself that. I have to tell myself that we’ll all be fine, or I’ll never make it though whatever lies ahead. The next few months are going to be…difficult. To put it mildly. But the one thing I do know is that no matter what happens, I want to be here with you. I want to be by your side, fighting by your side. I don’t want to slink away into the forest, wondering what’s happening to Bear Hollow and wondering whether you’re okay. We’re partners in this. Lifemates. We stick together.”

“We stick together,” Axel agreed wearily. He knew there was no use arguing with Whisper anymore. He decided instead to enjoy the moments of peace they had left, however few those moments might be. Right now, the Shifter Games event was in full swing over at the Gilt Hollow Arena. The clock had passed ten a.m., which meant the first matches were already complete. The kitchen was already preparing the food that would be served to the guards and soldiers, and within the next hour a smorgasbord of that food would be artfully arranged in the room where the soldiers ate. If all went as planned, that smorgasbord would be full of deadly poison.

Axel sipped his beer uneasily. He didn’t like the idea of poisoning so many people, even if those people were Gilt Hollow soldiers. But Bear Hollow had to do something drastic to protect its own citizens. The deaths of Bear Hollow shifters would continue until something was done about the Gilt Hollow threat. Axel was ready to live safely in his own town. More importantly, he was ready for Whisper to be able to live safely in their own town. And odds were good they’d have cubs of their own running around sooner rather than later. Axel didn’t want his children to grow up always fearing for their lives. He wanted them to grow up happy and free, and able to raise families of their own without worrying about when the next Gilt Hollow raid was coming.

And so, Axel sipped his beer and waited. He wasn’t sure why he and Whisper had decided to wait at the bar instead of at home. No one else was out on the street, so no one else was stopping by for a beer. Not that this place was usually open this early, anyway. Bear Hollow Brews normally opened more around five p.m., and Axel hadn’t officially opened early today. But he would have happily given a beer to any shifter who stopped by.

No one was going anywhere today though. Bear Hollow felt like a ghost town, and Axel could only hope that the town would not soon be full of actual ghosts. A few of the oldest and youngest shifters had opted to head into the forest and hide, but despite Axel asking Whisper to do the same, he knew that if the Gilt Hollow regime became angry enough, the forest might not be all that safe either. It felt like the apocalypse was coming.

Axel wanted to lay Whisper out on the bar top right then and there and make love to her like the world was ending, since it sort of was. But he was too afraid that if he did that, he’d be caught off guard when the attacks started. It was still early, but he didn’t want to underestimate how quickly the soldiers would die, or how fast the response might be. Nothing mattered more than staying alert and protecting Whisper.

Another two hours passed, and Axel forced himself to stop drinking. He could hold his alcohol quite well, but even he would start to feel tipsy if he didn’t slow his roll. He went to the bar’s small kitchen and made a simple meal for Whisper and himself. They ate in silence, and Axel couldn’t help but wonder if the Gilt Hollow soldiers had eaten yet.

The waiting was beginning to feel excruciating. How long would it take for the soldiers to die? How long after that would those soldiers be found? How long after that would the Gilt Hollow nobles order an attack on Bear Hollow? And who from Gilt Hollow would participate in the attack? The nobles themselves? The everyday citizens?

Axel drummed his fingers on the counter and waited. Whisper did the same. Neither one of them said much.

At half past one, the front door to the bar suddenly swung open. Axel immediately jumped to his feet, ready to shift into snow leopard form and fight. But the adrenaline rush he’d suddenly felt slowed when he realized it was only Violet. Beside him, he felt Whisper stiffen. He couldn’t blame her. Violet had realized by now that Whisper and Axel were together. Everyone in Bear Hollow had realized that. And yet Violet still insisted on fawning over Axel. The girl did not know how to take a hint.

“Violet,” Axel greeted her in a neutral tone. “What can I do for you?”

“I need a place to hide. I’m scared. Everyone is saying that the Gilt Hollow nobles will be over here soon, killing off any shifters they can get their hands on.” Violet crossed the room and reached across the bar to put her hands on Axel’s arms. Whisper stiffened even further, and Axel took a step back. Violet was insufferable! How could she touch him in such a suggestive way when she knew he was with Whisper? Not only that, but Whisper was standing right there next to him! Did Violet have no shame?

Apparently not.

Axel stepped back even further, doing his best to keep his anger under control. “You’re welcome to stay here, although I can’t promise how safe it will be once the attack starts. The Gilt Hollow nobles will probably attempt to tear this whole village to the ground. But if you want to stay here, you need to stay on the customer side of the bar and keep your hands off of me. I’m with Whisper now. My days of flirting with customers are over.”

Violet’s eyes widened as though Axel had just accused her of killing a puppy. “I’m not flirting with you.”

Whisper grunted, and Axel scrambled to think of something to say to smooth over this situation. But before he could get any words out, he heard loud shouts in the distance, followed by a loud horn blowing. That horn was the signal to all of Bear Hollow that the Gilt Hollow attack was coming.

Axel felt his heart starting to beat in his chest, and he looked over at Whisper with steely determination in his eyes. “This is it. Get to the back and hide yourself as best you can. I’ll try to bar the door. It won’t stop them completely, but it might buy us some time.”

He half-expected Whisper to argue with him, but to his relief she nodded. Their plan was to hide in the back until someone broke in. They would have to fight eventually, but the longer they could hold out before getting involved in the fray, the less chance of injury they would have, and the fresher they would be. Axel’s hope was that by the time anyone from Gilt Hollow got in here, the Gilt Hollow attackers would be worn down at least a little bit. He wasn’t sure how likely that possibility was, but he figured it was at least worth a try.

“What about me?” Violet spoke up, clearly on the verge of hysteria.

Axel hesitated. He had assumed Violet would hide in the back with Whisper, but he had just realized that Whisper might not be so happy about that. After all, Violet had been horribly disrespectful of Whisper since the moment she entered the bar. But before Axel could figure out how to best handle the delicate situation, Whisper spoke up.

“You’ll come with me, Violet. It’s best if we both stay hidden while Axel bars the door.”

Axel shot Whisper a grateful look, and Whisper gave him a shrug and a smile, as if to say, “What can you do? We can’t just throw her out into the street defenseless.”

Axel agreed, of course, but he also knew that if the tables had been turned, Violet would have been happy to throw Whisper out defenseless. Whisper was a good woman, though. She took care of her fellow shifters, even when those shifters acted like jerks toward her.

“Alright, then. Both of you get in the back,” Axel growled, already running toward the front door. The horn had sounded again, more urgently this time, and Axel could hear the screams from outside growing louder as well. Whoever was coming over from Gilt Hollow was getting closer. Axel took two heavy wooden planks and hung them across the door on wooden posts he had put up just for that purpose. Then he did the same for the two windows that looked out from the front of the bar. He peeked out the windows, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of what was going on. So far, he couldn’t see anything. But the screams kept growing louder. Axel winced, and turned to head toward the back of the bar, where the back door had already been barred and reinforced early this morning.

Truth be told, he would have rather been out in the streets fighting. If it wasn’t for Whisper, he wouldn’t have bothered with locking up the bar at all. He would have just run in the direction of the shouting, shifting into snow leopard form as he went. He would have jumped on every last Gilt Hollow citizen he saw.

But he couldn’t do that. Not with Whisper around. He knew that if he attempted to fight, she would insist on following him. He loved her bravery, and he knew she was a good fighter. Oskar had made sure that Whisper knew how to defend herself. But Axel didn’t care how brave or skilled Whisper was. He didn’t want her out there on the streets. The thought of losing her, or even just of her being badly injured, was too much for him. Thinking of anything bad happening to Whisper made him feel like he couldn’t breathe, and so he had come up with this plan to keep Whisper inside and safe as long as possible. And apparently, Violet was along for the ride too, now.

Axel didn’t really mind, as long as Violet knew her place and stayed in it. He couldn’t stand the way Violet always threw herself at him, but with the threat of death looming overhead, he hoped that even Violet would stop with the games, at least temporarily.

Axel found the crates that Whisper and Violet had hidden behind and joined them. He squatted down to the floor, careful to keep Whisper between Violet and him. The last thing he needed was Whisper and Violet getting into a fight right when the Gilt Hollow soldiers showed up.

“Let’s all be quiet and stay low. With any luck, it will still be some time before the Gilt Hollow riffraff tries to break in here.” Axel said this mostly for Violet’s sake. Whisper knew what the plan was and knew the importance of being quiet, but Violet looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Axel wished he had stronger alcohol than beer back here. He would have gladly given Violet shots of vodka until she passed out, just to keep her quiet. But hard liquor was too expensive for Bear Hollow shifters to afford, and it would take far too much beer to make even a lightweight like Violet pass out. All Axel could do was wait and hope that Violet managed to not completely lose her shit and give them away earlier than they wanted.

The waiting once again seemed to stretch on forever, but Axel was keeping an eye on his watch, and he could see that in reality only ten minutes had passed since he’d crouched down in the back room of Bear Hollow Brews. The shouts outside were getting louder and closer, and Axel knew it would only be a few more minutes until someone from Gilt Hollow was trying to break in. Axel reached over and grabbed Whisper’s hand, squeezing it tightly and then stroking the inside of her palm with his thumb.

“Promise me you’ll be careful,” he said in a low voice.

Whisper nodded back at him, tears bulging at the sides of her eyelids. “I will. Promise me you’ll do the same. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it through this. We will make it through this. Gilt Hollow may have a lot of resources and training, but they don’t have our spirit. We’re shifters, and we’re courageous like nothing they’ve ever seen.”

Whisper smiled back at him, and in that exact moment, the banging at the front door of the bar began.

“What was that?” Violet yelped stupidly, as though it wasn’t obvious that the noise was someone from Gilt Hollow trying to break down the door.

“Shhh!” Axel and Whisper said in unison.

Violet looked only slightly chastised, and Axel could already tell that things were going to go poorly once the Gilt Hollow attackers had broken into the bar. Violet was already on the verge of a full blown panic, and hiding behind the crates wasn’t going to work well if she was shrieking and hyperventilating. Time to adjust the plan a bit.

“Keep her quiet as long as you can,” he hissed to Whisper. Then he stood to his feet and started running toward the front of the bar.

“Wait? What? Where are you going?” Whisper called after him. He didn’t turn around to answer. He hoped she would trust him and stay back there, keeping Violet calm long enough for him to make a dent in whatever Gilt Hollow scum was about to come through the front door of his bar. He would fight out here as long as he could on his own, taking down the enemy and hoping that he could keep them from realizing that Whisper and Violet were hidden in the back. At some point, Whisper was going to come fight with him, he knew that. She would only stay hidden for so long when she realized that he was out here fighting on his own. His job was to kill off as many attackers as he could before Whisper came out and faced the danger.

With a low growl, Axel began shifting into snow leopard form. He wanted to be ready the instant anyone came through that front door, so he didn’t waste time. He let his strong, muscular animal form take over, and watched as his hands and feet turned into paws with long, sharp claws on the end. He stretched out his jaw as his teeth grew into fierce, pointed weapons, and then he waited. He crouched behind the bar, hoping to gain at least a small amount of the element of surprise, and he listened patiently as the pounding and ramming on the front door continued. The damage to his bar would run into ridiculously high sums of money, but he forced himself not to think about that right now. If all went as planned over the next few months, then no one in Bear Hollow should ever have to suffer in abject poverty again. Which was a very good thing, since Axel was sure that great damage was being done all over Bear Hollow. There would be quite a few homes in need of repair, and some would surely be completely destroyed. But if the shifters could only gain their freedom, this would all be worth it in the end.

The bar’s door splintered and cracked, and Axel knew it would only take a few more hits before the whole thing came caving in. He tensed, ready to jump when the right moment arrived. He had to be patient, since he would only have one shot at startling these guys. Well, one shot if all went well and Violet kept her mouth shut. Whisper was doing a good job so far of keeping Violet quiet, and in between the loud bangs on the door, the only sound Axel could hear was his own breathing.

Come on, come on. Come and get me. He swished his mighty tail back and forth, prepared to jump. It wouldn’t be much longer now. The shouts outside were deafening, and seemed to be coming from every side. Axel realized that the bar must be in the thick of the fight at this point. All around its four walls, shifters were fighting to save Bear Hollow. They were fighting for the shifters’ honor. It was time to join in.

A moment later, a final, sickening crack sounded out, followed by a loud, heavy thump. Axel knew that the Gilt Hollow attackers were in. Their boots sounded heavily on the bar’s wooden floor, and their deep, haughty voices filled the air.

“Anyone in here? You are ordered to come out and show yourself,” one of the attackers yelled.

“Turn yourself in and surrender now, and you’ll get off much easier,” added a second. Axel, of course, did not answer. He held his breath, willing them to keep moving forward.

Just a little more, and I can jump onto this bar and launch off jumping straight on top of them.

But of course, things were not going to work out that easily. Just as another heavy-booted footstep moved forward, Axel heard a loud, long shriek coming from the back room. Violet had finally panicked, and at the worst possible moment. Axel could not hold back any longer. He could already hear the sound of boots starting to run toward the back. He had to intervene now, before this group got to Whisper and Violet.

With a loud roar, Axel hopped onto the bar, hoping that he would distract everyone enough that Whisper and Violet would be left alone for at least a few minutes longer. Without pausing for more than a second to assess the situation, Axel soared through the air and landed on one of the attackers. He clawed at the man’s face, which was somewhat protected by a black ski mask. The man also wore thick armor. It looked like something the soldiers would have worn, but all the Gilt Hollow soldiers were supposed to be dead. Had some survived? How many? How big was this fight going on outside?

Axel didn’t have time to contemplate the question. The attackers in the bar were all closing in on him, holding out spears, daggers, and even guns.

Damn it. They always have those stupid guns! Guns were fairly common in Gilt Hollow, especially among the military or guards. Axel braced himself to dodge some bullets, and hoped that he would live to tell Whisper about this fight.

Thankfully, the attackers seemed unable to aim properly. In fact, they seemed a bit unsure of how to even shoot.

These aren’t soldiers, then. Or even guards. Perhaps they took the armor and equipment from the soldiers who died in the poisoning. This thought buoyed Axel’s spirits, and he bounced directly toward one of the attackers who was holding a gun. Axel used a mighty snow leopard paw to swipe at the gun, which sent it flying from the man’s hand and sent a wild shot off at the same time. Amazingly, the bullet that left the gun had been aimed perfectly to go straight into the heart of one of the other attackers. The man who had been holding the gun screamed in horror, and Axel took advantage of the moment of shock to take another swipe at the first man and take him down for good as well.

But the sense of triumph Axel felt was short-lived. The small group of attackers that had first come into the bar was suddenly joined by a flood of new attackers who came running through the now open doorway. Axel gulped, fighting back a brief moment of fear.

You can do this. You can take all of these attackers down. For Whisper’s sake, you must. Keep her safe. That’s all that matters. Keep Whisper safe.

The room had suddenly grown smoky from some sort of smoke bomb that one of the Gilt Hollow attackers had thrown. Axel did his best to see through the haze, and he concentrated all of his energy on avoiding gunfire and bringing down the enemy men. The noise in the room had grown so loud, and he had become so focused on the task of taking down as many enemies as he could, that he completely missed the sound of Violet screaming again in the background, or the sound of Whisper yelling at her to stay down.

All Axel was paying attention to now were the attackers right in front of him. He was going to stop them if it took his dying breath to do so.