HAPTER 1
I knew I couldn't say no. Even if it meant I might die. I couldn't let a six-year-old boy lose his own life for lack of a simple herb. Not on my watch.
And so, sitting on one of the wooden benches in the packed meeting hall, I raised my hand. "I'll do it. I'll go beyond the city walls and try to get the herb for little Matthew."
After the mayor had given a brief speech about Matthew’s plight, people were talking among themselves and the vice-mayor was preparing to make a few additional comments. But now, all conversation suddenly hushed. And all the hundred or so people present slowly turned to look at me sitting there in the back row.
An elderly woman named Mrs. Baker, who used to babysit me, frowned at me from where she sat, two rows up. "Have you lost your mind, Daisy? You can't do this. You can't leave Stone River. Haven't you heard the tales? Haven't you heard about what's out there?"
I certainly had. Every man, woman, and child in Stone River, our town, which had a population of about four thousand, had heard the tales. Practically from birth. Repeatedly. Over and over and over. And that's why, in the previous hundred years, only a few people from our town had dared venture outside the high stone walls surrounding it. And none of those few people had ever returned.
Beyond the high stone walls, wolf shifters, human men who could transform into wolves, stalked the wilds of Northern Michigan. And dragon shifters breathed jets of fire in the skies. These creatures had come into existence about a hundred years earlier, when the world, as humans knew it at the time, had changed.
Everyone in town had an idea of what the world had been like before, because of the dusty old books, pictures, and other artifacts in our town museum, which I kept up and ran. But the before had changed suddenly at the time of The Catastrophe, which is what everyone called whatever event had happened a century earlier. Every so often, some optimistic soul would refer to it as The New Beginning, though that never really caught on.
Some of the old-timers in Stone River had their theories about what had happened. Some of them had heard tales from their parents and grandparents, who had actually lived through the changing of the world.
Those elderly folks insisted something called a nuclear war was what had happened. Others insisted that a supernatural event had been to blame. One older woman, after reading a stack of dusty old books about what had been called pop music, was convinced that The Catastrophe had been the doing of a beautiful but secretive, dark-hearted lord named Justin Bieber.
But at any rate, nobody knew for sure. Everyone just knew that a hundred years earlier, the sky went black for several days and wolf and dragon shifters had appeared. To protect everyone, the citizens of Stone River, which had been called Stone River even then, had built a high, several-miles-long stone wall around the town and some of its nearby forestland and farmland.
Since then, people had done the best they could to survive, and the population of Stone River had even doubled.
People farmed and raised cattle and poultry for food. They still got married and had babies. Cotton was grown to make clothing. We maintained and repaired the old, crumbling town buildings, schools, and homes as best we could with very limited resources. Engineers maintained ancient, rebuilt generators that supplied our homes with electricity, though it wasn't very reliable. These same engineers maintained a system of pumps and mills that provided running water. In addition to the museum and a tiny adjacent library full of old books, our town even had a general store, three small restaurants, and a couple of clothing boutiques. People still used American coins for currency, even though nobody knew if America, as it used to be, even existed beyond the walls of Stone River anymore.
But for all these survival skills and self-sufficiency, one thing our community constantly struggled with was maintaining a supply of herbs for our doctors and nurses to use as medicine. And currently, we needed a very rare, difficult-to-grow herb that had been used for decades to save children from dying of a particular kind of fever. But it could no longer be found within the walls of Stone River, and some said it hadn't been seen since a particularly long and cold winter several years earlier.
However, I'd done some research in the library and had learned from an old book about local flora and fauna that this rare herb grew in relative abundance in a valley several miles east of Stone River. Or, at least, it had over a hundred years earlier, when the book had been written. But there was a chance that it still did, and according to local herbalists, there was actually a pretty good chance. They thought that because of the stony hills on either side, the valley, and the plants within, might have been better protected than other places during a particularly long, cold winter several years earlier. And as long as there was any chance at all, I knew someone had to try to help the little boy in our community who was gravely ill.
When I'd told the mayor that the herb might still exist in the nearby valley, he'd called a town hall meeting to see if anyone would be willing to make an attempt to get the herb. But despite the fact that we'd placed additional chairs and benches against the walls of the town hall, expecting an overflow crowd, only about a hundred or so people out of our town's population of four thousand had shown up. And after the mayor's speech appealing for help, no one had raised their hand. And that's why I did.
In response to Mrs. Baker's question asking me if I hadn't heard the tales of the wolf and dragon shifters beyond the town walls, I moved my head in a slight nod, looking her right in the eyes. "Yes. Of course I have, Mrs. Baker. But I'm not afraid."
That was not exactly true. But I was hoping that if I said it out loud, it might help make it so.
Mrs. Baker had been looking at me over her shoulder, but now she turned on her bench to face me more fully, frowning even harder. "Well, you should be afraid. Those wolf and dragon shifters outside the walls will kill you for sure." She gave her head a little shake. "What a waste of a life, and such a young one, too. You're only...what now? Nineteen?"
I was actually twenty-three. And I said this, quietly, though no one heard me. Many of the hundred or so people on the wooden benches in front of me had chimed in with Mrs. Baker, echoing her sentiments, murmuring about my decision being a waste of a life and asking me why I wanted to die.
But presently, Mayor Erickson grabbed an antique microphone from his podium and spoke loudly into it, cutting everyone off. The microphone didn't even work, but he just liked holding it and speaking into it during town hall events.
"Quiet, everyone. Quiet. Please." Once everyone had hushed, he cleared his throat and looked directly at me. "Miss Alexander, I appreciate your offer. And like you, I believe there's a chance, albeit a very slim one, that an individual may be able to accomplish getting the herb to save Matthew. However...I called this meeting thinking that a...." He paused and cleared his throat again. "That a man might volunteer. Just because the task may be physically arduous, and if the individual who volunteers is attacked by shifters...not that a woman can't be strong and brave as well, of course, but...."
With his round face reddening, Mayor Erickson trailed off and didn't seem like he was going to continue.
Mrs. Baker turned from him back to me, knitting her dark gray brows together. "He's right. If anyone is to take on this journey to get the herb, it certainly shouldn't be a young woman. This is a job for a man."
Everyone else in the hall, who'd also turned back around to look at me again, murmured in agreement.
A little flustered, irritated, and self-conscious all at once, though trying not to show it, I sat up a little straighter. "Well, no men have volunteered, have they? So, if one thinks he's brave enough and strong enough, and able to get the job done better than a woman, now would be the time."
Several men in the rows ahead of me slowly turned back to face the front. Several others swallowed and shifted their gazes from my face to a point just above my head. No one responded to me right away.
Eventually, Mayor Erickson raised his non-functioning microphone again and spoke into it. "Well, I myself would volunteer to get the herb, of course, but with a wife and three young children at home that I can't risk leaving without a father...."
Several men in the audience suddenly piped up with similar comments. One woman said that even though she had two strong, single sons in their early twenties, she wasn't going to let them throw their lives away on a "suicide mission."
I nodded. "I understand all of your concerns. But as most of you know, I don't have a family to worry about. I'm not married and I don't have children. And I also don't have parents to stop me from doing this."
My father had died shortly after I was born, and my mother, who'd been my last surviving family member, had passed away the previous year.
Mrs. Baker frowned. "Well, sadly, that is true. Which is why I feel I should forbid you in their stead. Because no teenager-"
"I'm twenty-three. I'm completely an adult. And more than capable of making my own decisions. And so, while I really do appreciate your concern, Mrs. Baker, I'm doing this. It just makes sense. Matthew has only had six years of life, and I've had twenty-three. If he loses his life to the fever, his parents will be devastated beyond belief, I'm sure. Whereas if I don't make it...well, I'm sure you can all select someone else to run the museum."
A long moment or two went by, and nobody spoke. Mrs. Baker turned her gaze downward, still frowning.
Mayor Erickson raised his microphone to his mouth again. "All right, then. You are indeed an adult, Miss Alexander, so I won't attempt to change your mind. If you'd like, I'll even escort you to the gate on the west side of the city wall myself. Which...I suppose I'll really have to do, so that I can immediately lock it back up when you leave."
No one was exactly sure why a gate had been put in the wall, since no one was ever supposed to leave. We all figured that the folks who'd built the wall a hundred years earlier had maybe just hoped that there would come a time when the world would return to normal and be free of shifters again, and they could leave. Though judging by how many people had spotted dragons flying high above the town in the previous few years, that time wasn't going to be any time soon. We weren't sure why the dragons never swooped down and attacked the town; we were just glad they didn't. Some suspected some sort of magical force field, though that was just a wild guess. No one really knew for sure.
I nodded at Mayor Erickson. "Thank you. I'd be glad if you'd accompany me to the gate. And, also...I'll be packing some supplies and my longbow, but I'd really appreciate it if I could take one of the town's guns and a few bullets, too. And if you could quickly teach me how to shoot."
I was good with a longbow, my skill developed while participating in the town's annual deer hunt for food. But I knew nothing about guns. The town had several old guns from before The Catastrophe, though despite the fact that they'd been cleaned regularly over the years, they didn't work as they should, and they often misfired, if they even fired at all. But I figured an old gun that often misfired would be better than not having one at all.
But Mayor Erickson gave his shirt collar a little tug, reddening. "Well...we're down to one functioning gun and just three bullets left. And I've promised the town council that those three bullets will be saved in case there's ever a shifter attack."
Mrs. Baker turned and looked at me again. "Doesn't even matter. Remember what some of the townsfolk wrote in the books right after The Catastrophe? They wrote that man-made weapons can't even kill the shifters anyway; being hit by a bullet or an arrow from a man-made weapon will only stun them. Meaning, knock them unconscious for a minute or two. The townsfolk wrote that the shifters can only be killed by another shifter stabbing or biting them in the eye, and then stabbing or biting them in the heart.
Remember that? So, you won't even be able to kill a shifter with your longbow if you need to defend yourself. Which makes this all the more ridiculous that you're insisting upon doing this...that you're insisting upon leaving the city walls in search of a herb that perhaps no longer even exists."
I realized I'd been gritting my teeth, and I unclenched them. "Well, at least I'll be able to stun a shifter with one of my arrows if I need to, which might give me time to get away. And ridiculous or not, I'm not just going to sit on my hands while a little boy is dying; I can't. I have to try to help save him. And I'm going to. Whether I make it or not. Whether I live or...or not."
Suddenly more than a little claustrophobic and self-conscious among all the packed benches in the hall, and with the gazes of a hundred or so people on me, I stood, looking at the mayor. "Mayor Erickson, if you'd still like to escort me to the gate, please meet me at my house well before dawn tomorrow. I'm thinking around four. I'd like some cover of darkness while I make my way to the valley."
And with that, without even waiting for a response, I stepped by several people sitting on the bench that I'd been sitting on and left the meeting hall.
But I didn't even get maybe ten feet beyond the tall, wooden double doors before someone called for me to wait. I turned, sighing, expecting to see Mrs. Baker. But it wasn't her. Instead, another elderly woman I recognized, but didn't really know, was hobbling her way over to me. When she reached me, she introduced herself as Matthew's great-grandmother and asked if she could just give me a hug. I nodded, tears suddenly welling in my eyes.
She wrapped her arms around me and spoke near my ear. "Thank you. I'm so grateful. And I know Matthew's parents will be as well."
I hugged her in return, patting her back. "I'm going to try my hardest not to let them down."
Soon I took off down the narrow dirt lane that led to the little house I shared with a roommate. Even while the skies darkened as the evening deepened, I strode briskly and with purpose, knowing that I was doing the right thing.
However, a few hours later, I realized something. And it made me certain that I'd actually never be able to take a single step outside the town walls.
*
Shortly after I returned home to the little house my roommate and I shared, groups of visitors began knocking. Some of them had been friends of my parents, and some of them were friends of my own. But sadly, my best friend wasn't among the visitors, and she'd never be visiting me again. Right after my mom had passed away, she'd also died after eating a wild mushroom that had turned out to be poisonous.
Most of the visitors who came tried to talk me out of my decision. Before leaving, Mrs. Baker gave me a hug, wishing me luck but then saying that I was going to be deeply missed. As if I were going to be gone far longer than the day or two it would take me to get the herb and bring it back. As if it was a sure thing that I wasn't going to return. As if it was a sure thing I was going to be killed by shifters.
When all the visitors finally stopped knocking on the door around ten, I packed a large backpack with jars of food, glass bottles of water, some clothes, and other supplies. Once my packing was completed and I couldn't think of anything else I'd need besides my longbow and some arrows, I went to bed.
And it was then, while I tossed and turned in my darkened bedroom, that I had a realization. It was possible, maybe even likely, that I was never going to see the sun again.
I knew it depended on when and if the shifters attacked me. I knew it depended on whether or not I'd be able to defend myself. But I also knew that because I'd be leaving well before dawn, if they attacked me right away, and I wasn't able to defend myself, I'd never be seeing the sun again. I'd never again feel its warm rays on my face. I thought about how I may have seen it for the last time earlier that day and hadn't even known it. And this thought made me a little misty. I wanted to help save a little boy's life, and I felt that I had to. But I didn't want to die.
And while I sniffled, looking up at the moonlit ceiling, I became seized by fear. I thought about dragon shifters and their massive claws. I thought about wolf shifters and their sharp teeth. And I suddenly wasn't so sure I was going to be able to take a single step outside the city walls. I was going to have to have Mayor Erickson push me, literally push me, out.
But then, I thought about what little Matthew might think if word of this somehow got to his family, and him. I was sure it wouldn't do much to bolster his confidence in the person who was going to try to help save his life. I was sure that it wouldn't do much to encourage him to hold on and keep fighting.
Wiping my eyes, I knew I couldn't have Mayor Erickson push me through the city gate. I was going to have to walk through on my own, like the grown adult woman I'd insisted to Mrs. Baker that I was. But it wasn't going to be easy. And I wasn't exactly looking forward to it.
I eventually fell asleep after more tossing and turning and a little more sniffling. I slept in stretches of an hour or two. And when my antique, wind-up alarm clock rang at a quarter past three in the morning, I was already up, sitting on the side of the bed. I'd been staring out at the darkness beyond my bedroom window for at least five minutes.
After showering and getting dressed, I added a few additional items to my large backpack, some of them being a few favorite pieces of my mom's jewelry, and the others, family heirloom-type things. I figured having these items close by on my journey might give me strength. And I knew I was going to need all the strength I could get.
I stepped out the front door of my little house at four on the dot. The town was dark and still, and the mayor was already waiting just beyond the front porch. After a hushed good morning, we set out down the dirt lane that would eventually lead us to the only exit gate in the several miles of stone wall that surrounded the town. I'd only actually seen the gate a couple of times in my entire life, once as a teenager doing some sort of silly dare with friends, and once while hunting deer with other townsfolk. But never on my own. The gate was at the end of a very densely-forested part of town with a lot of tree shade in the warmer months, which made the area slightly spooky. Not to mention the thought that shifters could be just beyond the metal bars of the gate, could maybe even extend a clawed wolf paw through the gate, was a spooky one in and of itself.
The mayor carried my large backpack for me while I carried my bow and a drawstring bag of arrows on my back. We walked in silence past rows of houses on either side of the lane, and then past some businesses, and then past nothing. Or, nothing, anyway, except forestland that became increasingly dense as we walked. It was early August, and the air was humid, though not extremely so. A pleasant warm breeze rustled the leaves of the trees.
Eventually, when we were maybe a half-mile from the gate, Mayor Erickson glanced at me and spoke. "You ready for this? No second thoughts?"
I shook my head. "Nope."
Of course, that wasn't exactly the truth. But it seemed a little late in the game to express any thoughts about being afraid I was never going to see the sun again. I'd volunteered for the task; it was happening and I knew it'd do no good to second guess myself. I knew the only way I was going to get through the day, and maybe even the next several days, was to be confident and fearless. Or, at least, as much as I could be.
We fell silent again until we reached the gate. A few early birds in the trees nearby began to chirp in the dark. Mayor Erickson lit a candle to see the lock on the gate better in order to unlock it, and he handed the candle to me to hold. And it was only then that I realized my hands were trembling. The flame of the long white taper candle danced from side to side just enough to make my trembling apparent. Though if Mayor Erickson noticed, he didn't say anything.
He produced a large key from his pocket and inserted it into a massive lock connecting the iron gate to an iron hook drilled into the stone wall adjacent to it. But before turning the key in the lock, he looked up at me. "I'm going to want to re-lock the gate the second you're out, so I'll just say this now. Thank you, Daisy, for what you're doing. Best of luck to you. I hope you find the herb and come home soon. I'll have a few men here at the gate in shifts over the next week or so to let you back in."
His words were just what I needed to hear. Finally, someone who acted as if it were at least possible that I might return home.
I thanked him, and he turned the key in the lock. And after a little jimmying, the lock clicked open. After that, everything seemed to happen in a blink, though in reality, it was probably ten or fifteen seconds.
Mayor Erickson traded me the candle for my backpack, and I slung it around my shoulder.
He then opened the gate a large crack, just wide enough for me to get through. "Quickly, please. Good luck."
Knowing that stopping to really think about what I was doing, even briefly, would be a mistake, I slid through the crack without even a moment's hesitation, leaving the confines of Stone River for the first time in my life. And almost instantly, I heard the giant lock click shut.
Mayor Erickson blew the candle out. Then immediately turned and began striding back up the lane. "Godspeed, Daisy."
And then I was alone. Alone on the other side of Stone River. More alone than I'd ever been in my life.
I knew it was inevitable what I had to do next. I had to turn from the gate and look at my surroundings. I had to look at what was essentially, my new world. A world where shifters lurked. And so, forcing my body to move, I did. I was still in darkness, I really couldn't see much, just the dark outlines of trees in the forest ahead of me. But I didn't hear any growls or flapping of wings that would indicate wolf or dragon shifters, so that was good. Though just the same, I got an arrow out and strung it in my bow, deciding that making my way through the woods prepared and ready for an attack would probably be smart. Not that I'd really ever truly be ready for a shifter attack.
The sky had lightened just a degree with dawn approaching, just enough to go from midnight blue to maybe navy blue, and this, combined with moonlight and starlight, was enough for me to see that the path on the Stone River side of the gate appeared to continue on through the woods, though this side of the path appeared stonier and much narrower, with overgrown vegetation on the sides, as if maybe it had been made a very long time ago, maybe even before The Catastrophe.
Not wanting to waste even a minute when I could be traveling under cover of darkness, for whatever little good that might do me, I set out. I figured that while it was still dark out, at the very least, it might make it harder for dragon shifters to spot me from the air. Also, I'd read in books written pre-Catastrophe that unlike in many other parts of the country, wolves in Northern Michigan tended to head back to their dens well before dawn to sleep. And of course, I wasn't quite sure if this information also applied to wolf shifters; at any rate, I figured that in this predawn hour, I was probably as safe as I was ever going to be.
With stars twinkling above me, I crept down the dimly-lit, stony path. After a few minutes had passed with the hoot of an owl being the only animal noise, I stopped creeping and began just straight-up walking, my confidence increasing. My hands slowly stopped trembling. The sky got a little lighter, turning from navy blue to a very deep violet. My big backpack didn't even feel as heavy as I'd thought it might be.
I walked for probably an hour straight, maybe even a little more, before stopping. Even then, I stopped only to get out a knife to hack some overgrowth from the path and then check my compass to make sure I was heading west, as I should have been, which I was. It was by no means full morning now, though it was much lighter. The sky was a velvety deep lavender, the shade lightening by the minute.
I continued on, daring to think that maybe, just maybe, not only was I actually going to make it back to Stone River, and in one piece, alive, but that maybe I could even be back by that afternoon, which would give the doctors plenty of time to turn the rare herb into a tea and give it to Matthew. They'd said he still had probably at least two days before his life would be in serious and immediate danger.
When dawn broke in brilliant shades of gold and orange, filling the whole forest with a warm glow, I actually had to work to stop myself from humming and whistling. I'd survived to see another sunny day. Despite the gravity of my mission, I was beginning to feel a little high on being outside of Stone River for the very first time. I was also beginning to feel that maybe the townsfolk were wrong about the shifters -- surely not wrong about their existence, but maybe wrong about how many there were and how close they were to the town. Maybe things had changed since the survivors of The Catastrophe had scrawled information about the shifters in notebooks immediately after it had happened. Maybe many of the shifters had killed each other since then.
Not long after dawn, the sunlit forest became a little warm and I stopped to pull my long honey-brown hair into a ponytail to get it off my neck. Then, realizing I was a bit hungry and thirsty, I actually took a little break to eat some peaches from a glass jar and drink a bottle of water before continuing on.
With birds chirping in the trees all around me, seeming to be spurring me on, I made good time. Judging by the sun's position in the sky, I guessed it wasn't any later than ten o' clock by the time I entered the valley where the medicinal herb was supposed to be growing in relative abundance. Desperately hoping that it still was, I said a silent prayer that nothing had changed in the past hundred years. And within a few minutes, my prayer was answered.
Between the two hills that flanked the valley, there was a grassy clearing maybe forty or fifty feet wide. And right smack in the middle, so perfectly in the middle there should have been a bulls-eye around it, sat a large cluster of flowering plants. I recognized the herb by its distinctive tiny purple flowers and dark, glossy green leaves. I took off for the cluster of herbs at a sprint, laughing a little.
Maybe ten minutes later, I'd cut as much as would fit in my bag, knowing that the herbalists would be able to make tea powder with it that would last for years, and they'd probably also be able to plant the seeds of the herb to cultivate it in Stone River again.
I'd just stood up from the cluster of flowering plants when I heard growling.
*
The growling was coming from somewhere behind me. I cringed. My backpack, which was now stuffed with the rare herb, fell from my hand. I'd been so close. So close to leaving the valley with the herb that would save Matthew.
But I knew that might still be possible, if I could just be brave enough, and strong enough, and fast enough. I'd set my longbow and arrow on the ground, and I snatched both things up and whirled around, locking the arrow on the string and drawing it back even as I did so. And I hadn't even had a second to spare. To my horror, two massive gray wolves, one charcoal-colored and one lighter, were charging right at me.
I didn't even know which one to aim for, though I didn't exactly have much time to decide. The lighter gray wolf was closest to me, so on instinct, I just went for him. And my arrow would have probably found its mark. But at the last minute, both he and the other wolf went wide, racing right past me.
I immediately grabbed another arrow from the drawstring bag on my back and locked it in the string. But when I turned in the direction of where the wolves had gone, they'd disappeared. Instead, two human men were walking toward me, although I knew that they weren't quite human; they were certainly shifters. And although I couldn't understand why they'd shifted into human form, I certainly wasn't going to wait around to be killed.
I let my arrow fly, aiming at the darker-haired of the two, who was also the biggest and tallest. But, to my complete astonishment, he caught the arrow in mid-air, snapped it with one hand, and kept on walking, leering. My stomach twisted into knots, and reflexively, I began walking backward, reaching for another arrow.
But my fingers were shaking, and before I could get a good grip on one and pull it out of my bag, the dark-haired man, who, along with his partner, was now less than twenty feet away from me, called out.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!"
I froze, unsure of just what I should do. My mouth went completely dry. But something about the man's leer told me that I needed to act, and fast. I needed to continue to defend myself. And so, willing my shaking fingers to close around one of the arrows, I finally got a grip on one and drew it from my bag. But by the time I fitted it in the bowstring, it was too late. The men were within feet of me.
The dark-haired one closed the distance in one long stride, snatched my arrow, and cracked it in half in one hand again, narrowing his dark eyes. "Failure to follow directions. I'll have you cured of that in about an hour. And you can trust me about this."
All I could think of was Mrs. Baker, and how she'd been so right, and how I'd been so dumb. I didn't respond to the dark-haired man, and after a long moment, he snorted.
"Cat got your tongue? Well, that's fine. I don't like women who get too chatty, if you get what I mean. Screaming and begging is fine, though. And in fact, I encourage that. Feel free to do all of that you want over the next hour or so. Really does it for me for some reason. Oh, and by the way, that's now officially how long you have to live...one hour. That should be all the time my friend, here, and I need to have a bit of fun. And you should be grateful for that. Because at first, we were just going to outright kill you for sport. But then I thought to myself, Well, not so fast, Ezra. It's not every day you find a random escapee from Stone River, or even every decade. Let alone one with such yummy, luscious curves. So, we should take full advantage of this." He took a step closer to me, his dark eyes glittering. "And I'm just assuming that's where you're from...Stone River, because...well, where the hell else would you be from?"
I wasn't sure if I should issue some kind of response, though I didn't think I even could. The shaking that had started in my hands now seemed to be spreading to the rest of my body, and I was having difficulty forming rational thoughts, which I just assumed would make forming sentences that weren't complete gibberish near impossible.
But fortunately, I didn't even have to try. Because just then, the shorter of the two shifters, a man with light brown hair, made a decidedly non-scary, non-threatening gasping sort of noise while pointing at me, or at some part of me. It was honestly the kind of noise a little girl might make when seeing a fun new toy.
The darker-haired man, Ezra, glanced at his companion, frowning. "Yes, she's got nice tits. I see."
The lighter-haired man shook his head. "No, look. Her hand. Look!"
I was still holding my longbow up to my chest with my left hand, more than a bit protectively. And now, Ezra joined his friend in peering at it.
Instantly, his dark eyes widened, and his jaw fell open a degree or two. "Well, I'll be damned. A Woman of the Star. And the first one ever."
Dumbfounded, I could only guess they were talking about the tiny, well-defined, star-shaped birthmark on my left hand, right between my first finger and thumb, though I had no clue why it might be of special significance, or what a Woman of the Star might be.
Ezra suddenly turned to his companion. "This changes everything. Now she's all mine. And we definitely won't be killing her. Now I'll be taking her as my mate." He paused, giving my hand another thorough look before shifting his gaze back to his friend. "Now, you stay right here while I drag this little bitch into the woods and make her scream."
Suddenly seized with panic and terror, I began trying to beat him around the head and face with my bow. "Leave me alone! You won't do this to me!"
But he just yanked my bow away and flung it over his shoulder, leering. "It must be my lucky day. Finding a Woman of the Star, a girl with smoking hot curves, and a girl who I just know will be a wild screamer, all rolled into one." With his dark eyes glinting in the bright sunlight, he traced a finger along my jaw. "Nice pretty face, too. Pretty pink full lips. I hope you won't be too shocked in a minute, here, when I tell you where I want you to put those pretty pink lips first."
Heart hammering in my ears, I turned and began sprinting. "No!"
But I didn't get very far before someone grabbed my ponytail and jerked me backward.
I clawed at the hand, shrieking. "No! Let go of me!"
To my complete shock and relief, whoever had my hair, probably Ezra I assumed, instantly did release me, and I went staggering forward. Not even a second later, I heard a great whoosh noise coming from somewhere up above. I was already running back toward the forest as fast as I could, but I looked up, craning my neck, and saw two enormous dragons, diving. One of them, a dark gray dragon, breathed a jet of fire from his mouth, making another whoosh noise. Behind me, I heard growling. Putting two and two together as quickly as I could, I figured that the wolf and dragon shifters must not be friends, and some kind of a major fight was about to happen. I also figured that mercifully, I now had a good shot at getting away.
I ran full-out, chest heaving, while behind me, wolves growled and dragons roared. I didn't even look back to see what was happening. At least, not until I reached the forest. Which was when I realized that I'd left my backpack, full of the special herb for Matthew, behind.
Cursing, I surveyed the shifters fighting in the valley. The dragons were repeatedly diving at the wolves, breathing great jets of fire, but the wolves seemed to be deflecting it by creating some sort of bright, nearly blinding, white force fields around their bodies. In addition to that, they were also leaping up and biting the dragons whenever they got close, making the dragons howl in pain.
The four shifters were fighting fairly close to my backpack. Far too close for me to think I could get it without being attacked or roasted alive by a jet of fire. Cursing again, I turned and began running into the forest.
But not more than a dozen paces in, I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't do it. I couldn't return to Stone River without the herbs that could save Matthew. And so, gritting my teeth, I turned and jogged back out of the forest.
Now it seemed as if the two dragons, a dark gray one and a jade green one, had the upper hand. They'd both landed and were taking swipes at the wolves with their thick, scaly arms, sending the wolves flying. But the wolves were getting back up and charging each time. I knew the fight could last another couple of minutes. It had also shifted a little farther away from my backpack. And I knew I had to make my move.
While keeping one eye on the four battling shifters, I sprinted back across the valley to my backpack. And by the time I reached it, I actually thought I was going to make it. But the moment I snatched it up, the wolves began retreating to the forestland on the other side of the valley. The dragons launched themselves into the air again, mighty wings flapping, and the jade green dragon began chasing them. However, the dark gray one didn't. He began heading straight for me. I made a run for it anyway. But I only was able to dash a half-dozen paces before the dark gray dragon landed in front of me, blocking my path. And pretty much blocking out the sun.
I clutched one of the straps of my backpack, bracing myself, hoping that my death from a blast of fire would be fairly quick and painless. Hoping I'd be incinerated instantly. The dragon took a deep breath, and I squeezed my eyes shut reflexively. And what happened next wasn't at all what I'd expected.
I heard a man speaking near me, maybe just a few feet away.
"Oh, you can open your eyes. I'm not going to fire-blast you or anything, if that's what you thought. I just took a deep breath because honestly, I'm a little winded. Too many cookies and glasses of wine lately and not enough exercise while in dragon form. Happens to the best of us shifters. Well, maybe not to my brother. He's perfect. But it happens to me."
Fearing some trick, I slowly opened my eyes. And found myself looking at the most attractive man I'd ever seen in my life, hands down, without a doubt. He was broad-shouldered and tall, maybe an inch or two above six feet, and had dark gray eyes and hair so dark it was nearly black. It was rakishly tousled, and one hank of it hung over his forehead. He appeared to be around thirty. And to my surprise, though maybe I shouldn't have been that surprised, considering that the wolf shifters had seemed to shift into human form with clothes already on, he was fully dressed. In jeans, black boots, and a black t-shirt fitted just enough to reveal the outline of an extremely chiseled chest and trim waist beneath. He definitely didn't look as if he'd been indulging in too many cookies.
I didn't know what to say. I had no earthly clue. I could barely remember my own name.
He gave me a dazzling half-grin, revealing white teeth that sparkled in the sunlight. "I'm sure this is probably all a little shocking and disorienting for you. Just seeing shifters up close and everything."
I finally found my voice, though it came out in a squeak. "A little."
Seeing shifters up close actually wasn't the thing that had my head spinning most right then. It was him, and his grin.
His grin got even bigger. "Very understandable. I myself am actually a little shocked and disoriented, just seeing a human woman outside of Stone River. I say this in the least creepy way possible, but my brother and I have been watching you from the moment you left. And I have to admit, from that very first moment...." He clutched his chest with a look something like faux rapture on his handsome face. "I've been just a bit rattled. Might need a cookie and a few glasses of wine later, just to calm myself down."
I actually cracked a smile. I was smiling two feet away from a dragon shifter.
He smiled in return, seeming to run his gaze over every inch of my face. And he really did look a bit disoriented and rattled. He didn't speak again right away, and when he did, his voice was a bit lower and huskier than it had been.
"You have a...a really, really beautiful smile."
I gave him another little smile while heat rose to my cheeks. "Thank you."
He studied my face again for a long moment, appearing kind of dazed, before suddenly clearing his throat and offering me his hand. "I'm Damien, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
I shook his hand, the feel of his skin on mine making my cheeks even a bit warmer. "It's nice to meet you, too, Damien. I'm Daisy."
I could not wrap my brain around the fact that I was having a friendly conversation with a dragon shifter. And an extraordinarily handsome one. After narrowly missing an assault by a pair of wolf shifters, I was sure.
But just then, before Damien and I could become any better acquainted, his brother walked up to us, also in human form and fully dressed. And I saw that Damien wasn't the only extraordinarily handsome man in the family. Not by a long shot. There was now a tie for the most attractive man I'd ever seen in my life.
Seeming a little irritated by his arrival, Damien introduced him as Nicholas. And like Damien, he was tall, well-built, and very muscular. He was also dressed in jeans, boots, and a t-shirt, and they definitely shared some facial characteristics, like the same strong, square jaw. But that's where the similarities ended. Nicholas had deep green eyes and hair that was a warm, honey-toned shade of dark blond. Or maybe light brown. It was just a few shades lighter than my own.
He extended a hand, looking deep into my eyes. "Please. Call me Nick."
I shook his hand, thinking how Heavenly might be a better name for him. His touch was firm and warm.
"I'm Daisy. It's nice to meet you, Nick."
I gave him a little smile, and he smiled back, seeming to be just as dazed as Damien had been.
"Likewise, Daisy. You have the most beautiful-"
"Smile." Damien folded his arms across his chest. "She already knows. I told her that, like, ten minutes ago."
Nick released my hand, frowning at his brother. "Oh. That must have been just around the time that I was driving Ezra and Oliver into the forest. On my own."
Damien shrugged, his mouth twitching with a smile. "Had to make sure Daisy was all right."
Nick responded with just the hint of a glare before turning his focus back to me. "And are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?"
I shook my head. "No, not at all."
That was true, though his deep green eyes were kind of piercing my heart right then.
Nick smiled. "Good. Though I'm sure you're in a bit of shock and very exhausted. Would you like to sit down and rest for a few minutes?"
While I thought about the question for a second, I shifted my feet, making my large backpack, which I was still holding, bump against one of my legs. And that's when I remembered that there were herbs in my backpack. Herbs that I needed to get back to a dying little boy as soon as possible.
I gasped, picking up the backpack with both hands. "No! No, sorry, but, no. I don't even have time to sit down and rest for a few minutes. I have to get back to Stone River as soon as possible." I slipped my arms through the straps of the backpack, one after the other, hoisted it up on my back, and began walking backward away from Damien and Nick. "So sorry. You've both been really lovely, and it was so nice to meet you both. But I have to get back right this second. Thank you so much for your help. Thank you both so much for saving me from those wolves."
I began turning, intending to dash off, but Damien closed the distance between us and grabbed one of my backpack straps to stop me.
"Oh, no, you don't. You're not going back to Stone River. No way. You're coming with us. You're our prisoner now."