Huntsman - Morgan Brice Page 0,63
and Ty—you’re the hikers’ new buddies while we get this sorted out. Let’s get them to the hospital and have the docs check them over. There should be a couple of sets of one-size-fits-all emergency clothing in the duffel in the cargo area. Then come back and tag-team with Emery to get all the folks back to town,” he said to the deputies, with a nod toward their friends and neighbors. “I’ll finish up here with the sheriff and take care of the prisoner.”
Russ noticed that Carter had a light backpack which probably included clothing for the sheriff. Shifters might be less prudish than regular humans, but that didn’t mean anyone wanted to see their sheriff handling police business in the buff.
Russ reached toward Liam, and the fox nuzzled his open palm. Something was still wrong, but Russ wasn’t sure what it could be. The fear hadn’t left Liam’s eyes, which worried Russ. What does he know that we don’t?
“Come on,” Jackson said, and his designated passengers all trooped out after him. Russ shifted back to his wolf, and kept pace with Liam, staying close. Deputy Emery followed with the next group of townsfolk behind him.
At the moment, Liam looked worse for the wear, with his fur matted with blood and covered with a layer of dirt as if he had shimmied beneath the furnishings. And maybe he did, trying not to get shot. Russ couldn’t see any open wounds, but Liam carried himself stiffly as if his hips were sore, and his tail stayed down, almost limp.
Russ whined softly, worried about Liam. The fox looked at him and yipped, intentionally bumping into his shoulder. Once we’re fully mated, we won’t have to worry about a vulpine-to-lupine translation guide, he thought. Charades is a lot harder to play without hands.
When they reached the parking lot, everyone else peeled off to find their clothing and shift back to human. Jeffries jumped out of the SUV where he’d been waiting and hurried over to Liam as Russ went to retrieve his things and get dressed. Russ could still hear the harried professor as he fussed over Liam.
“Liam? Oh my God, is that blood? Are you injured?” Jeffries asked. “You were right, weren’t you? About all of it. I’m sorry I took so long. I wasn’t expecting your text, and I didn’t look at my phone right away. As soon as I saw it, I called in reinforcements.”
Russ laid a hand on Jeffries’s shoulder. “You did good, Rich. We wouldn’t have known what was going on if you hadn’t relayed the text. You saved their lives.”
Jeffries watched the lynx and the ocelot slink over to the SUV, where Jackson dug baggy T-shirts and elastic-waist basketball shorts out of an emergency duffel. Russ went to retrieve a set for Liam and held them out. “C’mon. Go behind the truck and shift. Got clothes for you.”
Liam whined, and Russ frowned, trying to decipher the noise. “You’re afraid to shift?” He guessed. Liam shook his head. “You don’t think you can shift?” A nod. Russ felt fear thrum through him. He’d heard legends about shifters getting locked in one form or another. If the Huntsman legend had been real, could the other be true, too?
If so, then I’ve got a pet fox instead of a life partner. I am not going to accept that without a fight.
Jeffries knelt in front of Liam. “The psychics believe that the man who took you was using some kind of spells or occult sigils to hide you from us. If he had that type of knowledge, it’s possible he had wardings that also kept you from being able to shift. Will you try again now? Please?”
Russ felt his heart in his throat as Liam shook himself from snout to tail, and noticed again how he favored his hips. Then the fox closed his eyes, and Russ held his breath. The lynx and the ocelot moved closer, watching as if they shared Liam’s fear.
He had never seen his mate shift before, so Russ had no way to know whether anything was amiss. The process seemed slower than what he thought of as normal, but he didn’t know if it varied from Liam’s norm. Then it was over, and a very human Liam lay naked and streaked with blood, curled on his side on the pavement.
“Liam!” Russ rushed forward, trying to make sure Liam was all right and also shield him from onlookers.
“He kept us from shifting,” Liam said through tears, as