“All right, boys,” Jonah said, sweat pouring down his face. A sudden heat wave had struck at just the wrong time, and the sea was starting to rock ominously beneath the destroyer. The crew was scattering about, preparing for an unexpected storm as Nichols, from the shoreline, scoped out the area on the beach where the ceremony was going to be held.
They had been undercover for the past year, searching for the location of the Serah stone and putting Nichols in the midst of Thames and his crew as they began to plan a hostile takeover of Stonybrooke. It was just as they had suspected–the bears had been planning a ceremony to invoke the stone’s ancient power so the hybrids hiding in Stonybrooke would have the strength to destroy the entire community–and tonight was the night when the fight was really going to count.
“It’s starting!” Erik shouted over a loud rumble of thunder.
“Get in position!” Jonah shouted.
Everybody scrambled into position and Jonah stared through his binoculars. The bear shifters had no idea that they were there. This was going to be a sneak attack, with Nichols on the beach to take the stone and keep it safe.
“Hold steady!” Jonah ordered.
The men at the turrets were locked and loaded. All they were doing now was waiting for the signal from Nichols. After a few unbelievably tense moments, Nichols dropped his hand and Jonah bared his teeth.
“Now!” he shouted.
The rain began to pour down over their heads as the guns began to blare. Nichols, through a hail of bullets, shifted and ran through the crowd of shrieking men, half of them shifting as they sought the source of the attack, the other half simply confused and terrified, scrambling for the safety of the trees in the distance.
Jonah’s eyes locked on Thames, who was standing back along the grass before the beach began. His cool face was expressionless, watching as his men dropped to the ground and screamed in agony. However, his expressionless face changed quickly to contempt when he saw Nichols charging for the altar that the bear shifters had made in the center of the beach; the altar where the Serah Stone was positioned carefully in conjunction with a constellation that was supposedly present when the stone dropped to Earth.
“Nichols!” Jonah shouted, aiming his gun at Thames. But Thames dodged the attack and took off through the grass and disappeared into the trees. Fucking coward.
A roar of pain pierced the air and Jonah’s heart lurched. Thames had turned back after he had taken shelter in the trees and aimed his gun at Nichols. Blood was gushing from his shoulder and Jonah aimed at Thames. The tree caught his bullets and Thames once again moved back, protecting himself and leaving the rest of his men to die.
Finally, when the beach was cleared of treats, Jonah ran to the ship’s wheel and turned it sharply. He hadn’t planned on getting any closer to the beach; the plan had been for Nichols to swim to the ship and board it quickly with the stone. But now that he was injured, he simply couldn’t risk the life of his friend…or the possibility that an injured Nichols might drop the precious stone in the ocean.
The other members of the team were confused at first, but Jonah could feel their quiet determination as their faith in him silenced their protests before they ever left their lips. Soon, the destroyer was close to the beach and Jonah dropped one of the small life rafts to the water. Another loud clap of thunder brought a chill down his spine, but it didn’t matter. This was his responsibility.
“Stay here!” Jonah shouted. “Thames is armed, keep a lookout!”
The men saluted and Jonah leapt into the life raft and began to paddle with everything he had.
The ocean had other ideas though, and her angry waves whipped the little raft about. If he were a lesser man, it would have made him feel sick, but all Jonah could think about was doing everything he could to get to Nichols and retrieve the stone.
After what felt like a century on the water, the bottom of the raft finally scraped the sandy banks of the beach and Jonah jumped out, dragging the raft to land and running to Nichols.
“Jonah, wait!” Nichols shouted, his voice weak and distant as it was carried away by the wind.
Jonah paused and searched for danger. When he didn’t see anything, he studied Nichols. He was soaked from the rain and huddled over the precious stone, blood seeping from his wound and covering his shoulder.
“It’s going to be all right!” Jonah shouted back.
“No!” Nichols growled.
A shot sounded from the trees and the life raft, a simple inflatable raft that Jonah had inflated as he threw it overboard, popped like a balloon.
“Shit!” Jonah growled. The wolf was angry now, and he shifted into his wolf form almost as quickly as he registered the sound of the gunshot.
Jonah bounded over Nichols’ body and ran with all his might into the trees, picking up the scent of Thames almost immediately. He growled and walked with caution, until he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Jonah leapt out of the way just in time to dodge a bullet aimed right at his head, and lunged at Thames, who seemed intent on staying in his human form. Apparently, bears couldn’t pull triggers.
Thames seemed fearless, his eyes cold and dark as he darted behind the cover of another tree, and Jonah’s mind worked quickly, calculating exactly where Thames was going to come out again.
He cut the man off before he appeared again and pounced, ripping a deep gash into the tender muscle of Thames’ shoulder. The gun dropped from his hand and Thames shouted in agony, shifting into his bulky bear form. Jonah’s stomach dropped when he studied the man’s face. He was another of the ugly shifter hybrids; his face mangled by a combination of hideous wolf and bear features. He almost seemed alien, in a way, and Jonah looked away.
Thames was huge, but he was already injured when he struck Jonah. Jonah flew back into a tree. It knocked the wind out of him, but he recovered quickly and ran back at Thames, biting him again in the area he was injured. Thames roared in agony and Jonah bared his teeth down on him until Thames collapsed onto the ground. He wasn’t sure if that would be enough to finish him off when a shot rang through the air.
Jonah looked up quickly just in time to see Nichols staggering toward them, clutching the stone tightly in his one good arm. When he looked back down at Thames, it was clear he was gone.
“You might have good timing,” Jonah said, getting painfully to his feet. “But damn do you have the worst luck in battle.”
Nichols glanced at his wound and grinned. “I’ll get over it.”
Jonah grinned and walked to his friend, shaking his hand and taking the stone into his possession. If they were going to have to swim to the destroyer, they might as well do it safely.
“Damn right you will,” Jonah said, walking carefully around the corpses of the bear shifters that littered the beach. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
***
“I don’t believe it,” Betsy breathed. “You’re back!”
Jonah grinned and opened his arms to allow his sister to embrace him.
“It’s good to be home,” Jonah said, his eyes scanning the house. Last time he had come home like this, Lyla had been waiting in the shadows, ready to turn his life upside down. Now, it was just his sister in the lonely old place.
“I don’t have anything made,” Betsy said, suddenly frantic. She rushed to the kitchen and the cupboards were clattering before Jonah’s feet made it to the kitchen doorway. “I’ll get something done as soon as I can!”
“There’s no rush, Bets, I’m fine,” Jonah said with a small chuckle. “How are you? Sit down.”
Betsy sat and they looked at each other, both of them so full of things to say that no words came. Finally, Jonah cleared his throat.
“How’s Shifters United been getting along?” he asked. It was the first thing that sprang to his mind, other than the awkward conversation he had overheard between Betsy and Douglas.
“It’s actually been harder and harder since Lyla moved away.”
Jonah’s stomach dropped.
“What?”
Betsy chuckled nervously. “I guess after she got pregnant she just decided Stonybrooke wasn’t the place to be anymore. She left without even saying goodbye.”
Jonah stood abruptly from the table, nausea and confusion overwhelming him. “What do you mean pregnant?” Jonah asked, his voice hoarse.
Betsy furrowed her brow, then understanding dawned suddenly on her face. “Ohhh…”
“She was pregnant? And she didn’t tell me?!”
Betsy pursed her lips. “Well, Jonah…I’m sure she had her reasons. Lyla’s a very bright and sensible person. There’s a reason we…”
“When did she leave?! She would have had the baby by now!” Jonah exclaimed, running to the calendar.
“The day you did, Jonah,” Betsy said quietly.
Jonah kicked himself. How could he have been so stupid?! It all made sense now. Lyla had been terrified when he’d seen her last. Everything about the last time he’d seen her had felt wrong. And now, he knew why. She knew he had his job to think about. His life. And she had resigned to take care of their child on her own. No matter how they had felt about each other. No matter how much he…
“Bets, I have to go,” Jonah said. The wolf in him was pacing, itching to take over. If he stayed a moment longer, he would shift right there in the kitchen. A big no-no in the house.
“I know,” Betsy said. “I wish I could tell you where she’d gone, but…”
“I’ll find her,” Jonah said. He barely made it out the door before his wolf took over, and with that, he was gone.