The Cursed Shifters - Mateless

In the Woods

                                The next morning Lennon was on his feet, pacing and cursing himself when Shiloh and Michael walked in. They had all been stopping by to check on him between tasks and while he appreciated the company, he hated the sympathy. They had all been hurt a hundred times before and he was a wolf male he didn’t need coddling. “Get your ass back in that bed.” Shiloh snapped seeing the slight limp still in his right leg. It had looked like a chainsaw had sliced his outer thigh just two nights ago, the wound was healed but obviously still aching him. He snarled in response but sat down on the small couch in his room. The entire team had nice rooms in the pack house, a perk of their position and Shiloh’s right. “Seriously dude, I need you in fighting shape as soon as possible so we can go after Vareese again.” His eyes snapped back to her full of promise and anger.

                                “I will tear him apart next time.” He growled out through clenched teeth, the promise in his eyes was violence, retribution, and death.

                                “Not if you’re not one hundred percent so stop pushing that leg and heal up.” Michael had been the one looking after Lennon, he was almost always the nurse maid when one of them was injured. Lennon was a bear when he was down, refused help, snarled, and growled, he just wouldn’t accept that he was injured and hand to mend. Dre would whine and complain and take full advantage of his injured state to be lazy, sending Michael on constant errands for things. Bex was a lot like Lennon while hurt, less mean about it but unless she was just feeling like a lazy day it was impossible to convince her to rest. Shiloh was a toss-up, If she thought she had things to attend to she could give Lennon a run for his money but if she didn’t she would stay put reading a book and requesting snacks. “Sometimes I swear, I am the only one of us that makes a decent patient.” Michael sighed and plopped down on the couch beside Lennon who cringed as the impact shifted the cushion.

                                “You know where he is?” Lennon was calming down some, the idea of attainable retribution soothing his injured pride.  

                                “Kira can lead us to where he is. I won’t take her into the fight though. We will be headed to scout it out and find the location today and when you are back in fighting shape we will go after him.”

                                “I want to go with you to scout.”

                                “No, you still need to heal, and the limp will slow us down. He’s in a cabin, we will have to hike to and according to Kira the terrain isn’t easy.” He looked hurt at Shiloh’s words, but she couldn’t let his pride cost them their lives. Approaching him she put her hand on his shoulder and locked eyes with him. “Soon.” Lennon nodded, understanding these were orders even without the alpha tone lacing Shiloh’s voice. “Rest up, we won’t be back for a few days if Kira’s time table is correct.” Shiloh left, headed for her room to get ready for the little road trip and hike.

                                “You know you won’t be fighting Vareese again.” Michael hesitated telling Lennon, the reaction was not likely to be a favorable one but to his surprise Lennon hung his head and spoke calmly.

                                “I know, Shiloh wouldn’t risk it, she’s going to fight him, isn’t she?”

                                “Yes, she’s claimed his death, and she intends to make him suffer.”

                                “It is her right to do so even if she is not currently acting alpha, but I don’t know if even she can win. He must be antient to move like he does and to take those bullets to the chest without flinching. We might be in over our heads.”

                                “All we can do is have faith in Shiloh and follow her.” Michael’s words were calm despite his worry that Lennon was right. “We will have harder fights ahead pursuing this curse, view Vareese as a warmup.” Lennon sighed and nodded, Michael took it as his cue and headed out the door to prepare himself, “Lennon, don’t give anyone too much trouble while we are gone.” He slammed the door behind him as the large metal bowl that once occupied the coffee table slammed into the frame where Michael’s head had been. Lennon could hear the laughter from the other side of the door and the fleeing footsteps of Michael scurrying out of reach.

                                The group met at the parking lot, all dressed in hiking clothes with weapons that could pass as hiking gear meant to defend against wild animals. “We are taking little red today guys; we can ride together and she’s four-wheel drive.” Dre groaned, the little Honda Pilot SUV was not suited to his size and Bex never gave up the passenger seat. He took the back row all to himself and pulled the middle row back upright to let the others in. “Kira you will have to ride up front to give directions.” Bex nodded and she and Michael slid into the middle row at the same time Shiloh and Kira hopped into the front seats. “We have to stop for snacks on the way, the kitchen was terrifyingly low on junk food.”

                                Shiloh sped out of the lot and onto the main road, speed increasing and barely slowing for turns. Michael and Dre suddenly remembered why they didn’t ride with her unless they had no choice. The Jeep was new, it rolled easy, and she was still getting used to the manual transmission but in little red, a car she had owned for years and learned to drive in Shiloh was absolutely terrifying. Lennon had called it a mini van so many times to watch Shiloh’s face turn red and see the ratchet redneck come out when she was good and angry, but Michael had never seen a van sling around a turn the way Shiloh slung little red. Was a car wreck enough to kill a wolf? At these speeds probably. Shiloh coasted into a convenience store, the girls jumping out to grab snacks while Dre and Michael looked at each other in pure terror. “We gonna die today bud.” Dre said.

                                “Before we get halfway to Vareese.” Michael nodded.

                                “Who exactly gave that woman a license?”

                                “A cop who was also a preacher apparently.”

                                “Got snacks!” Bex chimed as she threw the door open and climbed back in. The three girls looked at the males’ pale faces and busted out laughing. Shiloh threw little red in reverse and took off again, they drove until midnight, stopping along the way to grab dinner and finally pulling in at a gas station to swap drivers, much to Michael and Dre’s relief. Michael took over, a much smoother ride while Shiloh slept leaned over on Bex who was out cold, face pressed against the window. Kira dozed as well, head resting on her seatbelt like a sling, she had said to stay on this highway for six hours, so she had time to rest. She seemed to remember everything in rough time frames and landmarks, sometimes the landmarks weren’t remembered until she saw them which made for some terrifying turns when Shiloh had the wheel. They should be on foot trapesing through the woods in search of the cabin the day after tomorrow, were they going to leave her in the car alone or take her with them? She was a liability if spotted but wasn’t safe left alone.  He pondered the implications of the various options in the quiet of the car.  

                                The six hours passed, and Michael gave Kira a nudge waking her for more directions, the small grunt when he nudged her startled Shiloh awake and she shot upright ready to fight. “Remind me not to wake you up.” Michael sounded tired, his eyes looked heavy, Shiloh took it all in.

                                “Pull over, I’m driving again.” Shiloh drove the entire day, moral in the car had plummeted, they were all sore from being cramped in and sitting so long. Sick of fast food and snacks, when Shiloh spotted a steakhouse, she didn’t think twice about pulling in. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need some real food. Let’s go.” The group literally cheered, excited at the opportunity to move around and eat good hot food.

                                The place was busy but had a table available in the back that was big enough for the group, no one took long choosing their meal and Shiloh ordered an array of appetizers to be brought out ahead. The waitress obviously did not believe they would eat everything they had ordered. “Y’all know we have to eat ever bit of this just to confuse that girl right? She’s a little big for her britches with all this ‘are you really going to eat all that?’ nonsense.” Kira started laughing as soon as she heard Shiloh’s nasally impersonation of the snooty waitress.

                                “Honestly, I found the comment about whether we could ‘actually’ pay for it more offensive.”

                                “Of course, you did Michael, no one questions it if a man wants to eat everything.” Bex chided. “She sucks, we are going to eat everything, then desert, then pay for everything with style.”

                                The meal was enjoyable, the food was good and hot, the company was wonderful, a much-needed break from the cramped car. Full and a bit less uncomfortable they piled back into the car and Shiloh headed to the little hotel she found on her GPS. “We will sleep tonight in hopefully comfortable beds and tomorrow we will drive the last thirty minutes to hike up.”

                                Dre gave Shiloh a knowing brother look. “You’re just doing that weird cat thing where you’re full, so you want to curl up and go to sleep.” Shiloh glared at him, yes it was true but they also needed rest before the hike.

                                “We need rest Dre, shut up.”

                                The hotel was small, sitting just in front of a tree line that spread out into thick woods. Fayrah perked up looking at the woods behind the hotel, she did not enjoy being caged in a car for two days and wanted to run. “Fayrah wants to run, y’all get checked in, Ill be back in a bit.” Nodded responses and Shiloh headed for the tree line behind the hotel. Removing her clothes she folded them, placing her phone and keys in the folds, and put them bellow a recognizable tree. Shifting was quick for her, years of practice shifting back and forth between her bodies had fine tuned it so she could do so in a fight without much delay. There was no pain with it anymore, just a prickling feeling like when your foot falls asleep, and it always started at her nose just before her face began to shift into a muzzle. She thought the prickling was her pores preparing for Fayrah’s thick russet coat to sprout.

                                As soon as all four massive paws hit the ground, she was off, both Shiloh and Fayrah’s gleeful laughs echoed through Shiloh’s mind as Fayrah bound through the woods, weaving through the trees and leaping over downed logs. She caught the scent of a doe fresh and not far ahead and Fayrah slowed, crouch as she stalked forward. Shiloh groaned, “No Fayrah I already ate too much at dinner, if you eat that deer I’ll explode.” Fayrah ignored Shiloh’s protest and stalked forward until the doe was in her sight. The thrill of the hunt had her, bloated over full stomach be damned. Fayrah pounced, launching herself at the deer, the poor doe had no chance, Fayrah’s teeth sank deep into its throat, claws digging at its chest. The animal dropped. Fayrah released it from her jaws and straightened to look down at her meal. A slow clap sounded from the trees to her left, head snapping that direction, Fayrah crouched low growling, teeth bared in warning.

                                “Thank you for catching dinner for me, saved me the trouble.” A man stepped out of the woods, unkempt and a bit dirty, Fayrah sniffed the air again, there were three more behind him and they all reeked like rogues. “Time to go pup, that’s our dinner.” His henchman stepped up behind him all wearing a stupid smirk like they had won.

                                Shiloh opened the link to her team while the man talked, “Rouges in the woods, four of them. Follow my scent to me. Bex stay with Kira.” Fayrah growled again gnashing her teeth at the four males. “Better hurry or Fayrah will tear them apart before you get here.”

                                “We are running but we didn’t shift, are they in wolf or human form?” Michael asked.

                                “Human, try to flank me when you come in.”

                                “Now now pup, there aren’t enough males left in this world as it is, don’t make us kill you.”

                                Fayrah’s laugh reverberated in Shiloh’s mind, “They think we are male! This is hilarious.”

                                “It’s because you’re so big, just a little smaller than an alpha male, so they think you are a boy. Want to shock them? Throw them off?” A plan was forming. The leader of the little group stepped forward, brave or stupid, another step and Shiloh shifted. Shiloh wasn’t sure if the wide eyes of every male in the band of rogues was due to her rapid shift or the fact that there now stood a small woman where they expected a large male, but they were all dumbfounded for a moment.

                                “Buy time and wait for the boys, you aren’t armed.” Fayrah advised.

                                “I am a weapon, Fayrah.”

                                Shiloh shifted her face, eyes going wide, lower lip pouting slightly before taking a step forward and speaking in a girlish voice. “You’d kill little ol’ me?” She pouted. A twist the rogues did not expect, the leader stuttered looking for an answer as his eyes roamed over her. Finally, he made it back to her face, taking in the blue eyes and red hair. She saw the click on his face, he had heard the rumors, even out here, his body shifted from rigid shock to tensed for attack.

                                “You..” He didn’t get to finish what he was saying as Shiloh’s fist smashed into his mouth. His lips felt as if they burst under her knuckles and her hand came back with blood smeared across it. Stunned he staggered backwards hand over his mouth. The three men behind him weren’t moving, just staring at her still astonished, Shiloh smirked and motioned for them to come. The insult of being summoned was enough, they snapped out of it and prowled toward her like hyenas having found prey. The amused smirk never left her face, the first one to bolt toward her was met with a swift kick to the jaw that sent him to the ground a few feet away. Shiloh’s foot throbbed from the impact, but she had felt his jaw crunch, it was broken, a bruised heel wasn’t that big of a deal. The leader was back up, blood down his chin and eyes full of malice, he and his two remaining henchman circled her like prey.

                                “What’s the matter boys? Scared of a little girl? I’m not even clothed let alone armed.” Michael and Dre were closing in, they could hear what was happening and when they heard her words Dre popped into Shiloh’s head.

                                “Seriously woman? You’re fighting them naked?”

                                “They thought I was a guy; it shocked them and gave me an advantage.” No shame, she had no shame.

                                Just as the three rogues got the courage to attack Michael and Dre burst through the trees. Dre snatched one of the flunkies up and hurled him back into a tree, the sound of his spine snapping could not be covered by the c***k of the tree trunk. Michael tapped the other on the shoulder at the same moment and through a clean straight punch to his face as he turned to face him. The leader of the group had been in front of Shiloh, the circling pattern putting him in the right spot to see the males come out of the trees.

                                “You really should work on hiding your feelings, dear, you’ve looked either terrified or shocked all night.” Michael was engaged with the rogue he had punched, Dre was headed for the one Shiloh had kicked in the face who was now trying to get himself up off the ground, that left the leader for her.                       

                                Looking from Shiloh to the two males and back again the rogue opened his mouth, sputtered, and tried again. “Our leader will come for you. You won’t be safe.” He spat the words as best he could through his fear and took off at a dead run, shifting as he fled. Michael drove his knife into the heart of the rogue he had been fighting, a clean downward motion with his right hand while he held him in a headlock with his left. Dre had the other rogue in a similar position but snapped his neck instead of going for the heart.

                                Shiloh walked over to the limp male under the cracked tree and checked him for a pulse. “Dead on impact I believe, you really are the hulk Dre.”

                                “Please, the hulk wishes he was me, now put some clothes on.” He pulled his shirt off and tossed it to her.

                                “Thanks.” Shiloh slid what amounted to a loose-fitting dress over her head and started walking back to the hotel.

                                “Are we not going after the last one?” Michael asked, jogging up next to her.

                                “Nah, let him go, we have bigger fish to fry tomorrow, and I need sleep.”

                                Dre nudged the deer carcass with his foot, “And this?”

                                “You want it, eat up, I told Fayrah I was too full to eat it, but she was caught up in the hunt.” Fayrah whined in protest in Shiloh’s mind, but she just kept walking. “Goodnight boys!” Shiloh called then took off sprinting barefoot through the woods, she scooped up her things from the edge and pulled up the text in her phone with the room number. She could feel Fayrah shaking her head at her as Shiloh walked through the hotel in Dre’s shirt carrying her clothes. People looked at her, judgment clear on their faces but she didn’t care, all she cared about was the hot shower and bed that were waiting upstairs in her room.