Her Wild Hero

***

Kendra hadn’t checked Declan’s wounds since the sun had gone down an hour ago, but they’d all closed up, even the deep ones. She never would have believed it was possible, but he really was healing himself. She knew shifters healed fast. She’d personally seen how quickly Ivy had recovered from the torture those freak doctors had put her through. But as bad as those wounds had been—punctures, scalpel cuts, pieces of skin sliced off—they’d been minor compared to the ragged claw marks crisscrossing Declan’s body.

She didn’t know how Declan had been able to keep this talent hidden from the DCO for so long, but ultimately she didn’t care. He was going to live, and that was the only thing that mattered to her. It had been a long day in the cramped shelter waiting for him to wake up, and from how slow his breathing and heart rate still were, he was probably a long way from coming out of his hibernation.

She gently smoothed his hair back from his forehead. She’d figured out a while ago—when she’d laid her ear on his chest to convince herself that his heart was still beating—that her touch wouldn’t rouse him. It had been beating…albeit very slowly. Since then, she’d held his hand, refusing to let go. Even that simple contact made her feel better.

As she sat holding his hand, she kept an ear out for hybrids, but so far she hadn’t heard any. And in between doing that, she’d daydreamed about all the things she and Declan might do once they got back home. Making love topped the list, of course. Followed by going out to dinner. Or maybe they’d just get takeout. That way they wouldn’t have to leave her apartment—or his—for days. She wondered what his place looked like. Probably very rustic, with lots of wood and outdoorsy furniture. But mostly she just wanted to hang out with him and make up for all she’d missed with him in the past seven years.

Kendra was still smiling at that image when she heard a noise outside. Her heart catapulted into her throat. Just because she heard something, that didn’t mean it was a hybrid. There were all kinds of animals out here in the jungle.

Pulse pounding, she slipped on her NVGs and quietly moved aside the branches covering the entrance to their shelter just enough to take a quick peek.

The trees along the stream were sparse enough to allow a little moonlight to filter through them and illuminate the scene. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle a gasp. Two hundred yards away, a pack of hybrids were slowly crawling along the bank of the nearby stream, sniffing the ground. In the green backlight of the NVGs, the glow from the creatures’ eyes was unmistakable.

She could definitely make out three of them for sure, but there could have been more. They were moving slowly, following the exact route she and Declan had taken earlier that day. As much as she wanted to believe that they’d keep following the stream and pass her and Declan by, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. It was only a matter of time before they reached the shelter.

She glanced at Declan. He was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the danger they were in. With her low on ammo and Declan in a self-induced coma, the fight would be over before it started. Once she was dead, the hybrids could do anything they wanted to Declan. She wouldn’t let him be tortured the way Ivy had, not when there was something she could do about it.

Kendra flipped up her goggles and leaned over to kiss Declan hard on the lips. He didn’t respond, but she liked to think he could sense her. “I love you, my big, gentle teddy bear, and don’t you ever forget it.”

She kissed him again, softer this time, then gently wiped away one of her tears that had fallen to his cheek. She wished she could write him a note, so he’d know what had happened to her, but there wasn’t time for that, even if she had something to write on.

She traced her fingers along his scruffy jaw, regretting all the things she hadn’t gotten a chance to say. But another clatter of rock on rock from down by the stream reminded her that she had no time for this. She grabbed her M4, dropped her NVGs back into place, and eased out of the shelter.