Chapter 146 Chapter 146
They’d started out just after dawn. No one could sleep any longer than that. Blair had made all the women that could shift go out and eat some local wildlife—Kasia, Nichelle and Annmarie thought that was ‘gross’, Daisie thought it was cool. Blair was certain once Daisie was old enough to shift, there would be no one that would ever catch her again.
He watched Daisie stumble twice, going up over some thick roots on the incline and bound over to her. Making a soft prusten sound at her, he crouched down, hoping she would understand. She looked at him, then turned to her mother.
“He’s offering you a ride, baby.” She said, giving Blair a look of appreciation.
“Really? Even Daddy won’t let me ride anymore.” Daisie got up on his back carefully and leaned forward, so she was draped over him and not holding on with handfuls of hair. He was glad about that.
“You’re getting too big, but this is a special circumstance.”
Blair was a little unsettled by the weight of her on his back for the first few steps but decided it would speed things up and prevent her from getting hurt, so it was acceptable.
He went ahead of Cortney until he was alongside Torrey. He chuffed quietly, and she lifted the map and looked at it.
“We’re on course.” She said quietly.
Glancing back at the others, he saw they were keeping up fine. Kobie was at the back in her cat form, and she paced back and forth like she wished everyone would run full speed, so she didn’t have to walk along so slowly.
“Thank you,” Daisie whispered, leaning closer to his ear. “I’m tired and thirsty, but don’t want to bug Mom right now.” There was a pause. “She’s sad.”
Blair picked up speed, so she would have to hug him to stay on. He couldn’t hear about sad moms from brave children right now. He’d never make it if he did. As it was, he felt like he was barely holding on during all of this. Now he just wanted to run full speed, but the child on his back squeezing him kept him cautious. Another hour and they should almost be at the point Calum said he’d meet them at. He really hoped he was there and that he brought his mate—one female on his side would be very welcome right now.
Blair paced around the area the others were resting in. The younger ones had started lagging further and further behind, so Cortney suggested a brief rest. They’d reached the top at least. He moved through the trees and stopped when he could see the terrain going down. According to Torrey, they were close to where they needed to be. He inhaled slowly, searching for any trace of scent that told him Calum was waiting below as planned. He didn’t pick up anything. Knowing Calum though, he’d be two feet in front of them before they could sense him.
Going back to the group, he surveyed their state. The only one that hadn’t shifted back was Kobie and the way she was pacing along the ridge to the right, she was just as anxious as he was. Daisie was rested after her ride up here. He didn’t mind doing it but wouldn’t be offering that again unless there was no other way. He didn’t enjoy feeling weighed down.
A high-pitched screech had him bolt toward Daisie. “Snake.” She screeched again and stumbled backward—right toward the edge.
In a blur, he watched Kobie come out of nowhere and knock her back away from it. Then, as if in slow motion, he watched Kobie disappear over the edge. He leaped over and looked down. She was laying at the bottom of a thirty-foot drop. She wasn’t moving. He searched for a way down to her.
“Kobie!” Franki called down.
She moved but didn’t get on her feet.
Blair growled out an order he hoped she heard and understood, telling her not to shift. Without hesitation, he jumped down to an outcropping. His paws slid along it, almost sending him tumbling off it. There was another one and then a tree he could use. Springing down to the next one, he twisted and headed for the tree. He hit it and swayed over as the tree shifted from his weight. Not pausing, he used his claws and tried to control his slide downward along any branch he could hit. At the end of the branches, he hung by one paw, dangling out of the tree. He was going to have to do some acrobatic shit to get down from here. His cat wasn’t happy with this situation at all. It took hard focus to get him on the same page with him. He retracted his claws and was free-falling fast.
Hit paws smacked the earth with enough force they stung. Not caring if they were bleeding, he ran the last ten feet to her and shifted fast. “Don’t shift.” He ran up behind her and leaned over her. She was breathing too fast. “Stay calm, Kobie, don’t shift. Let me check if anything is broken. You can’t shift if anything’s broken.” He tried to keep his voice calm, even though he was freaking the fuck out on the inside.
“That’s it, okay, check your breathing—any ribs hurt?” He ran his hands along her front legs, then up her shoulders. He felt nothing out of place. Unclasping her pack, he pulled it out of the way. “You’re doing great. Can you lift your head?” She moved slowly and lifted her head off the ground. “Everything feeling okay?” She didn’t make a move or sound to tell him otherwise.
“Let me check your back, just keep breathing steady.” He glanced up to see everyone watching down over the ledge. “Keep going toward Calum.” He called up to them. Running his hands down her spine, other than unbelievably soft fur, he felt nothing else. “His mate is a healer.” They didn’t move. “We’ll catch up. I’ll get Kobie back up there and we’ll catch up.”
He must have sounded convincing, because one by one, the heads disappeared. “Okay, move your back legs. Any pain?” He watched her for signs of discomfort. “Okay, shift back and we’ll rest for a few.”
Leaning back, he pulled his jeans out of his pack and pulled them on as he heard the popping of her bones reforming. He held out his t-shirt, keeping his eyes closed as he waited for her to say something. She pulled it from his grasp.
“I’m okay.” She said breathlessly.
His eyes opened, and he assessed her slowly.
“I think I just scared myself into shock.” She sat down, pulling her legs beneath her.
“Scared you?” He looked up at the top ledge. “I just tried to make my cat learn how to fly to get down here.” He pulled out a bottle of water and sat down. Grabbing a protein bar, he tossed it to her.
She looked all around them. “How are we getting back up?”
Blair took a long drink while looking along the ridge. “I have no idea.” He grinned at her wide-eyed look, “what was I supposed to lie?”
She took the bottle he held out to her, “maybe pretend to have an idea next time.”
He shrugged, “I’ve recently learned that it’s the straight-up truth that keeps me in one piece.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, “Sometimes the truth just creates more problems.” She looked up again, then got to her knees and pointed. “Think we can get up there in cat form?”
He turned to look at the area she pointed to. “It will be a workout.” He didn’t like how loose the soil looked along the slope, “but we’d never make it using hands.” The truth just creates more problems? With his chin, he motioned to the unopened bar she held. “Get that into you, I’m going to go take a closer look.” He took a bite of the dust bar in his hand as he went toward the area she pointed to. It was possible, there was enough growth going up it they would have small areas to rest and get a foothold, but damn, it was going to take some balance. What truths was she hiding? He blew out a breath before taking another bite. His cat was not built for acrobatics—but there was no other way up that wouldn’t take them an hour to backtrack.
The first ten feet were the easiest part. After that, claws and strength were the only things that prevented them from crashing onto the ground floor below them. He watched as she pulled her cat up onto a small chunk jutting out. His paw hurt holding most of his weight dangling here. Personal space or not, he had to pull himself up and crowd her.
Finding footing, he gave himself thirty seconds to prepare for the next leap. Kobie leaned into him, making sure not to push him off balance and off their tiny mid-air island. He made a soft noise, trying to encourage her to push onward. They were almost to the halfway point of the climb. After the next spot protruding out enough to use to climb further, the angle of the incline was more sloped inward and not straight up and down to the floor beneath.
He felt her side huff out a few times as she built up the courage to make the jump. The muscles in her powerful back legs tensed three times, then she sprung upward. She almost missed the lip of the next landing. Instinct had him leaning out precariously near the edge of his foothold in case she slipped back down. As she slid, she dug her back paws into the parched earth and slowed her body enough to get a better grip above.
Blair hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until his sides heaved to suck more air in. He called out a quiet prusten, so she’d keep going. There was no way two of them could stop in that small space.
Blair clawed his way over the top and then dragged his large body away from the edge. Kobie lay there a few feet away, her sides heaving as she caught her breath. She sat up and looked at him, her incredible cat eyes telling him that was the first and last time she’d ever do that shit. He chuffed twice, letting her know he agreed. Getting up, he moved over and bumped her with his head. They had to catch up to the rest. It had occurred to him while cursing the stupid idea of climbing that, that he hadn’t told the others if they encountered a jaguar or two, that they were friends. That’s the last thing he needed in his world right now was a bunch of female tigers to attack Calum, or worse, Calum’s mate.
Kobie got up and sniffed the air, then started moving with sure steps in the direction the others had come. Blair paused and checked for scents down the slope the group had climbed. There was nothing out of place. This bit of good luck would not last. He felt that truth to the very bottom of his soul.