Page 21 of Captive Wilderness
Finally, it stopped. I lay lifeless on the floor, my breaths coming out in short pants, my head pounding, my stomach wanting to let loose the food I’d eaten today.
This time when he hauled me to my feet, he brought me face-to-face with him. Stubble covered his jaw, and his eyes were a cold yellow. “You’ve been a lot of trouble for nothing, you know that?”
My teeth chattering in my skull, and I forced words from my lips. “Where’s my sister?”
A cruel smile flashed. “You’ll be joining her shortly.”
The helicopter was so loud now the sound overtook everything else. I saw a flash of the rotors through the window as it landed between the cabin and the lake, one of the few open spots around.
His hand tight on my arm, he dragged me through the door. The rough handling made my injured ankle burn. A small, black helicopter hovered two feet from the ground, lowering closer to the rocks. Two men in tactical gear jumped out as soon as it settled. They wore black helmets, goggles propped on top, and held machine guns.
The cowboy yanked me along. I couldn’t get in that helicopter. My sister had sacrificed her freedom for me to escape. I wasn’t going to throw that away now. I needed to break free.
With all my might, I struggled against the grip on my arm, trying to get away. The cowboy jerked me in front of him and gave me a long-suffering stare.
“You really want to get shocked again, don’t you?” he yelled over the noise of the rotor blades.
I spit in his face.
He blinked, then wiped the spittle off his nose. When he looked at me again, his eyes held deadly promise.
I swallowed, my stomach rolling. Another yank and we were halfway there. He kept dragging me along, and I kept struggling. His hold was tight, my skin bruising beneath his fingers. The tactical guys stood at the ready beside the open door of the helicopter, their guns angled toward the ground. I was close enough to scent shifter on them, but not the pilot inside.
Icould notget on that helicopter, but no matter how hard I yanked, the cowboy’s grip wouldn’t loosen. My ankle burned, telling me to rest. My stomach reminded me what it felt like to get shocked. The pressure of the rotor blades slapped at me, making me duck my head. This was happening. I was about to be shoved on the helicopter. I couldn’t stop it. A defeated shriek erupted from my lips as I struggled with renewed force.
A roar made us all stop. The cowboy and the two tactical guys, even the helicopter pilot, turned toward the sound.
In the next instant, the pair lifted their machine guns. A distinctratatatpunched through the beating of the rotor blades. I flinched and ducked.
The cowboy let me go. I scrambled away, toward the cabin, tripped on the baggy hem of my sweatpants, then turned in time to see a bear charge out of the bushes.
It wasn’t just a bear— it was a massive mountain of enraged fur. I didn’t know bears could get that big. Its fur had a reddish tinge to it, sticking straight up along the hump at its neck. A grizzly bear. I’d never seen one before.
It moved fast, faster than I would have expected a bear to move. A distinct and familiar scent wafted toward me as it charged the three men.
“Kane,” I breathed.
Whatever the tactical guys were shooting at him didn’t seem to do any damage. He kept charging until he was on top of them. One swipe and the guy on the right went flying, another swipe and the other went down, their machine guns clattering to the rocks.
Kane pounced on the one, his jaws closing around his neck. A scream ripped through the air as he bit then shook the body like a rag doll. I cringed, covering my head with my arms.
The cowboy veered to the side, away from the bear and toward me. I tried to scramble backward as fast as possible.
Behind him, the other tactical guy tried to crawl to his gun again. Kane was on him in the next instant, going for a kill bite at his neck. Another tortured scream shouted above the sound of the helicopter.
The cowboy yanked me to my feet. Turning, he held me in front of him like a shield.
Like the pilot didn’t want to be close to a rampaging bear. The helicopter lifted from the ground, away from the struggle. Kane noticed and launched himself at the landing skid. He caught, and the helicopter tipped, the one side of the rotors angled toward the rocks. One blade hit, crumpling, then another. A screeching metal sound replaced the rhythm of the rotors that had hovered over everything. I covered my ears. The rotors folded into themselves like origami. The bear spun, throwing the helicopter away from him. It hit the rocks that lined the lake. Glass smashed. A fire caught in the engine, then was put out a second later when the bulk of the helicopter hit the water with a splash. If the pilot wasn’t already dead, they became trapped as it sank into the lake.
The grizzly turned toward us. My heart leaped into my throat. I’d never seen anyone with such a feral look in their eyes.
The cold metal of a handgun pressed against my temple. “Stay right there or she’s dead,” the cowboy shouted at him.
Either Kane didn’t understand the demand, or he didn’t care to obey. Walking on all fours, blood on his jaws, he stalked toward us. My heart pounded so loud I could barely hear anything else.
“I said stop,” the cowboy shouted again, his shrill voice rattling in my head.
Kane didn’t stop.
