Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 19

  "Squeeze." I listened to his instructions, aimed at the target, and squeezed.

  Bang!

  My shoulders pressed back but I was able to control the gun better and this time clip the shoulder of the target.

  "Nice shot. Try again, and pull twice."

  "All right." I breathed deeply and took my time aiming. The first shot was a bit wild but the second hit the target in the lower left corner.

  "Good. Notice you keep hitting to the left. Compensate and aim slightly more to the right. Three times. Go."

  By the time I got to the third shot, the kickback seemed minimal. All three shots landed on the fake torso. I lowered the gun and looked at Caden. He smiled.

  "You're a natural. Why doesn't that surprise me?"

  "I'm a very violent person. It makes sense." I smirked as he nodded to the targets. "Keep shooting until the clip runs out.

  "How many are in there?"

  "Fifteen per clip. Get shooting." He watched me as I continued to unload. Only a few times did I miss the target completely, unfortunately, it was usually the first shot. After two clips, I was hitting on the general target regularly. "Aim for something specific, not just the target. Try head and heart. Those are the most important in this situation."

  "How do werewolves survive head wounds?"

  "In human form, it's hardest. It can be fatal or very damaging. Beast form thickens our skull and skin, like armor. It stops the full penetration for the most part. Unless you've got something like a giant elephant gun or bazooka, standard issue is generally survivable. Silver bullets can go either way for head wounds. It can be bad or deadly. Body shots are rarely deadly unless they hit with silver and imbed themselves in a vital organ."

  "So it's literally hit or miss."

  "Yep."

  "Have you ever been shot?" He handed me a new clip to reload.

  "Oh yeah, tons. But mainly by hunters in wolf form. Thankfully, it wasn't in the head. The wolf is most vulnerable to guns." Caden stood up beside me with a second gun and we began shooting together. The dual gunshots had me a little more rattled. It affected my aim at first, which was probably his intention.

  After reloading the clip, my confidence in the weapon grew and it showed when I readily hit my marks. Caden continued to shoot beside me, rapidly and sometimes slower. Almost an hour passed as he taught me to draw the gun from holster at my hip without fumbling, then he had me shooting with one hand, opposite hands, kneeling, and lying down.

  "You focus like you're enjoying this," he said, offering me a bottle of water.

  "I am, kind of." I took a swig then handed it back to him.

  "A gun isn't scary when you know how to use it properly." He nodded toward the targets.

  "They remain scary to me. I've seen the damage they cause to the human body."

  "It's not the gun damaging the body, it's the person holding it." He patted my shoulder. "Remember that."

  I considered what he said. It seemed true for the most part but I didn't get a chance to think on it for too long before we began shooting again.

  By the time the sun dipped low in the sky, my marks were closer to the intended spots. We paused as Caden assembled a new set of targets meant to challenge my hesitation and discernment. The varied targets consisted of pop-up posters of good guys and bad guys, followed by colors. I shot a few good guys at first and an image of a rubber duck which had both of us laughing.

  With the sun long gone and after a round of shooting with only the beam of a flashlight, Caden packed away the ammo. I holstered my unloaded weapon and Caden nodded his approval.

  "You keep that for a while. Get used to carrying it," he said as we started back toward the cabin.

  "Will you lock it up back home? I don't want it hanging around."

  "Of course."

  "Good." I walked beside him through the remaining patches of snow, only now noticing the dropping temperature. I shivered and zipped my jacket. "How'd I do?"

  "Well. You're focused and precise. Like any doctor would be." He grinned at me.

  "Or should be, anyway."

  "Yeah." He cleared his throat. "How is it for you with your mom back? I'm not sure that I ever asked you that."

  "You have, in a way. It's been the greatest gift to have her in my life. Sometimes I don't think I show it enough, though."

  "You do show it, Nee. You just think you don't."

  "Maybe."

  "You've had a crazy year since we've moved here. A lot of changes." Caden helped me across a thick patch of ice where the mud once pooled. I slipped but he caught me.

  "Thanks," I said as he helped me along. "And yes, this year was full of changes. Mostly good ones though."

  "Your mom back, two mates, a few kidnappings under your belt, and a baby on the way. That's a trip for the record book." Caden chuckled as we hiked down the sloping terrain toward the cabin.

  "A trip on a runaway train." I sighed. "A baby… I keep putting it out of my mind for some reason. Not forgetting but not dwelling too much, you know?"

  "Why not?"

  "It's complicated."

  "I've got time. The pack is quiet and your mates are still too awkward to get into a spat yet."

  "Weretiger kits are a handful. By spring, we'll have a two-year-old. Well, not a two-year-old really but she'll look and act that age."

  "You're worried about handling this? You're great with kids."

  "I think we can handle it. Having a child around will change things. Vanessa and I are still fragile at times. Mal and I are fine." Talking to Caden so candidly seemed unusual and comfortable at the same time. He never judged or criticized anything, just listened and offered reassurance.

  "You're all fine. Vanessa will learn to trust you with yourself eventually." He glanced at me.

  "She trusts me generally, just not with myself. That's a pretty interesting way to put it." I couldn't help but laugh a bit.

  "Well, you have put her most dearest love in danger a few billion times in the past decade or so. I can't say I blame her." He chuckled and nudged me with his elbow.

  "I wasn't too careful with her love, was I?" I nudged him right back.

  "Nope. By the way, you know Xany isn't going to stop hounding you until you tell her everything, right?" He grinned a knowing grin.

  "I know. Good thing she can't hear as well as you do. How do you manage to be how you are, knowing everything that you know?"

  "Being the sole center for the pack bonds keeps me informed, discipline keeps me neutral."

  "Doesn't Xany feel the bonds as the Alpha female?"

  "Yes, but as you know, she prefers to keep her focus, well, everywhere. The empathy gift is also a distraction." He led the way up the front steps of the cabin and held the door open for me.

  "Thanks. If she focused, could she sense what you do?"

  "She could indeed."

  Vanessa was the only one in the main room when we returned home. A fresh pot of stew sat cooling on the stove. Caden helped himself to a bowl as I joined Vanessa on the sofa where she dozed heavily. I rubbed her arm, gently stirring her from sleep.

  "Hi, baby," I whispered when she smiled at me.

  "You were gone for a month," she said, stretching groggily beneath the blanket.

  "Only half a month." I smiled as soft purrs rose from her, filling the space between us.

  "Too long." She sat up, pulling me into an embrace only to pause a second later when she caught sight of the gun at my hip. "Is that loaded?"

  "No. Caden said I should get used to carrying it." I removed the gun and holster, setting it down on the coffee table.

  "Did you kill a lot of things?" She unzipped my jacket and helped me out of it.

  "Only a few paper targets and a tree or two."

  "Don't forget the rock. You killed that, too," Caden called out from the kitchen.

  "And a rock." I laughed. Vanessa snickered and tucked my hair behind my ear. "How are you feeling?"

  "Tired. Horny. Tired." She tugged at
my shirt, meeting my gaze with a sleepy smile.

  "Hmm… sounds like it." I rubbed her arm then lifted her hand to my lips, kissing her palm. "Have you eaten?"

  "Xany fixed me salmon."

  "Did you tell her?" My eyes widened.

  "No but I think she thinks I told her something secretive," she said through a snicker.

  "When she figures it out, she's going to cut off your seafood supply for a month." I smiled and stroked her face, tugging her cheek down to examine her eye. She lifted both brows when my fingers fell to her wrist, checking her pulse.

  "Are you examining me?" Laughter tangled her words as she swatted my hand.

  "A little." I smiled and released her. "Let's see your belly."

  "In your office?"

  "If you want to, baby." She nodded and I stood, offering her my hand. She took it and I led her to the clinic.

  "Where's Mal?" She asked, yawning on the way.

  "Hunting. What about Xany? Where'd she go?" I patted the table for her to sit.

  "With your mom somewhere. They took a shovel." She slid up on the table and laid down. I washed my hands in the sink where Gavin appeared not all that long ago and returned to her.

  "Probably for burying all the dead bodies they're hoarding." I laughed when she searched my expression. "I'm kidding. They're probably burying enchantments or totems to ward off the leeches."

  "Oh, yeah. And you were learning to shoot." Her eyes never left me as I lifted her shirt, tucking it beneath her breasts, her skirt remained below her rounded stomach. Larger than her last exam, she was now obviously pregnant as the weretiger version of a second trimester had set in.

  "Caden said I'm fair at it."

  "You're probably good at it then." She watched my hands as I examined her stomach, her purrs still lingering. "You don't have to be so careful, Shawnee. You've seen my boobs before. And everything else."

  "It's habit." I gave her breast a light squeeze for good measure and she laughed, a grin spreading across her lips. "In about three weeks you'll be twice as big. Is there anything I can say that will make you stay here tomorrow while we raid the leech nest?"

  "Only one."

  "What's that?"

  "That you'll stay here, too." She dropped her head back on the table when I finished looking her over.

  "They'll be without a healer if we both stay..."

  "Then I'm going."

  "What if the leeches are stronger than we expect?"

  "My armor will protect the baby, Shawnee. It's a lot different from humans. She won't be hurt by a fall or a blow, just as I won't." She tugged my shirt when my gaze drifted.

  "I know but I don't want either of you hurt."

  "We don't want you hurt either. You've had enough of it for three lifetimes at least."

  "So have you."

  "We're pathetic." She smirked and grabbed me by my shirt, pulling me toward her. The rough gesture made me gasp at first but laughter had me soon after.

  "It must be why we get along so well."

  "Must be," she said, closing the gap between us and pressing her lips to mine. She led me through a delicate kiss until the odd position on the table had us rising. "Let's go to bed."

  "If you say so." I grinned then squealed when she lifted me up, tossing me over her shoulder. "This is awkward you know!" I swatted her rump.

  "But I like it," she said and carried me down the hall.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Caden had us all up early the next morning to prepare for the raid on Ileana's nest. He provided me with two handguns; the Glock I'd practiced with last night at my hip and a smaller one strapped to my ankle. I couldn't quite figure out how I would get to an ankle gun quickly enough to be effective. Caden insisted anyway. Xany stood by the table, prepped and ready with her new super-powered crossbow.

  The Sept began to arrive, first Hank with Imogene and their horde of kids. Barron, June and her mate, Vincent, along with two others I didn't know very well, joined soon after. Manny and his Beta, Jake, stood silently next to June.

  Cote ran to me, catching me off guard as he hugged me around the legs.

  "Hey there, kiddo." I crouched down to embrace him. He smiled and poked my cheeks.

  "Henry is going, but I can't."

  "Henry is a grown up wolf now, isn't he?" I nudged his chin when he dropped his gaze.

  "Will you magic him?" Cote whispered. Vanessa turned in our direction when she heard the child speak to me. His worry for his brother hidden behind the simple request.

  "I promise, if he needs it, I'll magic him," I whispered back as he hugged me around the neck.

  "Okay." He let go of me and returned to his mother, satisfied with the exchange. I smiled at Imogene as she settled on the sofa beside my mother. The two of them looked like they belonged there, perfectly tangled in the children.

  "A'right," Hank's voice drew my attention back to the others. Vanessa glanced away when I stood, a smirk playing on her lips. "We're about to head off. But first a few reminders." He stepped aside and nodded to Caden who broke rank to take position beside him to address us. Mal stood beside Vanessa with Xany and me in the center. Clothing began to disappear from some of the Changers, others disrobed manually. Mal donned a loincloth and Caden a pair of jeans. June stood naked along with Foster.

  "Vanessa will bend us to the room where Shawnee has guided her. Whatever happens, do not break rank." His last phrase weighed heavily on my shoulders as the command burned into us. The wolves shuddered but Vanessa remained unfazed. "Breeders will remain centered." Caden glanced at Xany, Vincent, and me. All three of us nodded together. "If we need to split up, remain with your teams." Another pressure squeezed my shoulders. "And remember, do not bite the vampires. Fights like this are for weapons and claws. Their blood is poison. Treat it as such."

  Caden nodded to Hank and rejoined the group. Mal flanked his left side, Barron to the right with Hank at the forefront. The rest of us formed a sort of triangle behind them with the Breeders in the center.

  She's your responsibility, Mal's voice poked into my mind. I looked at him but his eyes weren't on me, instead, he stared at Vanessa. She nodded as my brows furrowed. Had I just overheard telepathy? Or had Mal intended to include me? I didn't get a chance to ask.

  "Everyone make contact now," Hank said, draping his arm around his son's shoulders.

  Vanessa slipped her arm around my middle and linked arms with Mal. The group followed suit, each holding on to another that connected them to the source of the bending.

  Vanessa's fingers dug into my hip as the suction of the inbetween grabbed me, snatching me viciously from the cabin. The magic required to bend this many people must've been strong because every bit of me felt out of control. Yanked and pulled in all directions, eventually swirling my equilibrium to the point of dizziness. Blues and purples flashed around us. I wanted so badly to close my eyes but I couldn't bring myself to look away. Adia said the spirit world and inbetween were sisters. Humanoid shapes melded in with the darkened hues, cloaked in shadow. Some of them reached out, others retreated. In all the times I'd traveled through the inbetween, I hadn't noticed these beings. Maybe the strong magics brought us deeper. The only thing I could feel was the heat of Vanessa's body within my arms as I clung to her. It hit me only then that we were heading into danger, bending into the room that kept me hidden from my family for days. I held my breath and the moment my shoes hit the stone floor, I knew we arrived on target.

  Everyone still, Caden's internal command rounded through the group. Not telepathy in its own right, Caden's demand bore something deeper and more primal.

  Bodies shifted around me, silently. Vanessa on my left, Xany on my right, and Mal in front of me in the room. We were in the right place. It was pitch black and damp, the smell of moisture and mold caught in my throat and my heart began to race. Vanessa squeezed me and I realized she hadn't let go after the bending.

  Arm, Caden broadcast again.

  Xany's crossbow creaked as sh
e loaded it followed by the sound of the bows carried by the others. In my fear, I nearly forgot about the guns until Vanessa patted my hip. She was the only one without a weapon. I drew the gun, soothed only by the notion that the bullets within it were not silver and couldn't harm the Changers that surrounded me. I worried more about Xany. Although Caden had her wearing a sort of space-age looking bulletproof suit, her head was still exposed.

  Metal jingled up ahead as Caden, or who I assumed was Caden, opened the door. In the reddish, dimly lit room in front of us, I recognized the vampire lair. Caden led us down the hall between the rows of rooms where the sex games had occurred. In its emptiness, the place seemed less threatening. Vision returned to me as we made our way toward the muted hall. Changers in various forms around me stalked like a silent army, my boots clunked the loudest in comparison to Xany's sudden stealth. I wondered what exactly Caden had been teaching her. Vanessa, now a few inches taller with a soft coating of white fur covering her skin, glanced at me. She twitched her nose and nudged her chin forward. It took me a second to translate, "Be ready." I lifted the gun. My hands trembled slightly.

  Shawnee, where? Feel. Caden transmitted the question though I had no idea how to answer him. Alpha-speak was usually a one-way deal. He reminded me of the voice I heard while held captive here. Be still. Feel. Where was Ileana? Did she know we were here? Maybe blowing the roof off was a good idea after all. Where were the rest of the leeches? When I escaped that room originally, I ran all the way to the front door without intervention. Maybe that was the path to follow. Ileana walked me past the entrance after she released me from the bedroom. We should probably head in that direction.

  I wasn't sure how Caden knew which way I meant but the party began moving along the familiar path. Down the corridor, past the entryway where I found my escape, we moved into darkness again.

  Stop.

  We froze at the command. I heard nothing, saw even less. I glanced at Xany who seemed more focused and still than she had in her entire life. She offered me a perky smile as if we were on a video game mission and not one that could end our lives any second.

  Room to the left has at least three. Room to the right, two.