“I don’t know, but I want you to stay inside,” Seth whispered. He looked around the small cabin. It had a small kitchen, an even smaller bathroom, and little furniture. Nowhere to hide. “Shit.”
Amelia was taken aback by the anxiety in his voice. She had never seen Seth like that. She pulled her jeans up, struggled a bit before she managed to make the zipper work, her fingers shaking like crazy.
“Aren’t you getting dressed?” she asked.
Seth threw her a quick glance. She was moving too slowly. Carefully, he stepped closer to the window and peeked between the blinds. Blake’s cabin was close enough so that the light spilling from it reached their window. Amelia couldn’t help but think how gorgeous his naked body was in the eerie light. He turned to her, and the horror in his eyes almost made her heart stop. How could she be thinking of how handsome her lover was when something terrible was happening outside?
“Amelia, I have to go out there. Promise me you’ll stay inside.”
“What’s happening?” She had finally put all her clothes on and she was looking for her boots. Yes, she would stay inside, but there was no way she was going to be barefoot. She wouldn’t feel safe. What if she had to run? What if she had to go out and help?
“I don’t know.”
He wanted to add something else, but his attention was distracted by the muffled sound of steps approaching their cabin. Amelia couldn’t hear them, but Seth caught them just in time to turn into the majestic white fox Amelia knew so well and post himself in front of the door. Whatever was out there, in the snow, flung itself at the door. Amelia screamed and ran to the kitchen, determined to find some kind of weapon. Along with the rush of snow and cold wind which invaded the cabin, there was also a flash of red. Red fur. That was when Amelia knew: they were under attack. She knew the attackers were fox-shifters and she also knew that the kitchen knife would be useless. If Seth failed to keep them away, she was easy prey.
The red fox and the white fox fought in the middle of the room for a while, then the white fox managed to push the other one out through the broken door. They tumbled in the snow, rose back to their feet, danced around each other trying to find an opening, the right time and angle to launch at the other’s neck. Seth seemed to have the upper hand, then the red fox snarled and attacked. The white fox merely growled when his enemy sank his fangs into his shoulder. He used all the force of his massive body to push the red fox away, gritted his teeth when the fox took with him a generous chunk of white fur, then launched and buried his fangs deep into his enemy’s throat and didn’t let go until the red fox was on the ground, struggling to breathe, his blood soaking the snow.
Amelia was standing in front of the door, one hand over her mouth, the other holding the knife tightly. Seth turned to make sure she was all right, and the blood she saw on his white snout made her sick. His shoulder was also bleeding heavily, and she knew that was his blood. Dread overcame her, and she took a couple of steps towards him. She wanted to run to him, hug him and do something, anything, to make the bleeding cease, but Seth shook his head and she stopped in her tracks. The sound of broken glass which came from Blake’s cabin startled her and made Seth turn around and run to his Inari’s help. Amelia stood there for a moment, hating the fact that she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t help Blake and she couldn’t protect Seth. She couldn’t even wrap her mind around what was happening. When two red foxes came running out of Blake’s cabin with Seth and Blake on their tails, Amelia dashed back inside and hid in the kitchen. She couldn’t lock the door, but she could block it with a chair even though she knew that if a fox-shifter wanted to get to her, he or she would. It was stupid to think a closed wooden door and a chair would keep a shape-shifter, any kind of shape-shifter, out, but what else could she do?
Something smashed against the cabin wall. Amelia screamed and fell to her knees, then crawled to the farthest corner of the kitchen and curled up on the floor, her back pressed against the counter. One hand on her baby bump, the other holding the knife in front of her, sharp tip pointed towards the door, she stayed there for what felt like forever. Snarls and growls came from outside, shrieks of surprise or pain, loud thuds that made Amelia cry and shake in fear. If she had to stand up and walk then, she didn’t think she’d be able to. She was paralyzed, her body refusing to respond to the impulses of her brain.
“Please, please…” she whispered. She wanted to pray, but nothing came to her mind, so she kept repeating “please, please”. It could have been “please stop”, or “please don’t die”. She didn’t know what she was begging for. Seth was strong and fast, and Blake had five tails. There were also Elena and Aaron, the two Deltas who were ready to give their lives to protect their Alpha. Amelia believed in them, she trusted their strength and their fighting skills, but she had to be realistic. Those things would make little to no difference if they were outnumbered. She had no way of knowing how many red foxes had attacked them. Or why.
She bit her lip to stop herself from screaming when she heard someone move around in the other room. She couldn’t tell if the person was in human or in animal form.
“Amelia!”
Oh, thank God, it was Seth. She took a deep breath and tried to push herself up to her feet, but her muscles wouldn’t cooperate. Tears of frustration ran down her cheeks.
“In here…”
It was no more than a whisper, but Seth heard her. The scent of fresh blood was stuck to his body, his nostrils, making it impossible for him to detect anything else. Only when he managed to open the kitchen door and push the chair away did he feel the salty smell of tears and the sour smell of sweat and pure, unforgiving fear coming from Amelia’s trembling form. His heart ached and his vision went blurry with rage. She was frightened, and he hadn’t been there for her. He shouldn’t have left her alone, but what else could he have done? His Inari had been in danger. She still was. As Blake’s Yako, it was his duty to protect her, to make sure she was safe, to give his life for her.
“Amelia…” He knelt by her side and drew her body against his chest. He was naked, having just shifted into his human form, and he had no intention of putting any clothes on. He knew he would have to shift back in a few minutes. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Amelia dropped the knife and relaxed in his embrace. The wound on his shoulder was nearly healed, and she thanked all the gods that shape-shifters healed quickly.
“I was so scared,” she whispered. “I thought… I thought you’d never come back.”
“I’ll always come back for you, my love.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Blake? Elena, Aaron… are they okay?”
Seth shook his head and started pulling her up with him. “We have to go.”
“What? No! We can’t leave them behind!” She struggled, but Seth was stronger than her.
“We’re not leaving them behind.” He took her ha
nd and dragged her out of the kitchen. He scanned the room quickly, then spotted her winter coat on the armchair in front of the fireplace. He threw it over her shoulders and Amelia complied. “Blake ordered me to protect you, so we’re going to the other side of the lake.” He looked outside to make sure there was no one close. Blake, Elena and Aaron were doing their best to keep the Tricksters away from the cabins and from Amelia, so that he could escape with her. He turned back to her, put his big hands on her shaking shoulders, and looked deep into her eyes. “I’m taking you to Damon. We’re going to tell him what’s happening here, and he’ll send reinforcements.”
Amelia nodded, although she didn’t quite like his plan. Her heart jumped when Seth’s bones started breaking and snapping, remodeling his body in the shape of a white fox. She hopped on his back and he dashed through the snow and trees, running as fast as he could without dropping Amelia. She was holding onto the fur on his nape for dear life, scared that she might slip off if she did as much as shift her position. She squeezed his sides between her thighs and kept her head down. The freezing wind was lashing her cheeks and forehead with icy snowflakes, and it was hard for her to breathe. The other cabins weren’t too far, she just had to hang in there a while longer.
***
“Stop, please stop,” Amelia whispered. Or tried to. She couldn’t head her own voice. “You have to stop. I can’t… I can’t hold on any longer…”
To her surprise, Seth did hear her and stopped. She slipped off gently, hitting the ground with a silent thud. Seth was immediately by her side, pushing his snout in her face, breathing warm air over her eyes and cheeks. She had her arms wrapped around her bump, and Seth cursed himself for running too fast. She was a pregnant woman, and the fact that she was a hybrid didn’t seem to matter at all. What if he had just put his baby’s life in danger? He couldn’t think straight. He shifted, and now he was leaning over Amelia in his human form, a naked Adonis with wild blond hair, bright purple eyes, and skin as white as the snow surrounding them.