Realizing he hadn’t smelled him because he was downwind, he took in a breath and immediately detected something else. He’d acknowledged the residual smell of gasoline and oil left from the machines used to cut and clear the land. But near the pile he was standing next to, there was a scent that was much stronger.
His eyes on the man in the distance, he started to call out, then caught the flicker at the man’s feet. A line of fire raced towards him and straight into the brush pile clearly doused in fuel. He managed to jump to the side before the pile ignited into a ball of flame.
Bright red and orange flames licked to the sky. Conner felt the heat and the concussion that came off the fire as it exploded over the dry timber.
His bear was yowling, trying to tell him something. Adrenaline coursed through him. There was a pain shooting across his leg and one side of his torso, but he ignored it. His thoughts were on the man who was turning and running into the woods. The man who had tried to kill him.
He stripped off his clothes as he ran, it was the only moment he acknowledged some of his clothes were charred away in spots. Conner was easily able to use a claw to rip through the clothes in a flash and shift in a hard crack of light as he made his way down the slope away from the fire and towards the man that must be the elusive Tony.
Conner ran fast breaking through the tree line, his bear roaring into the woods, hoping to scare the man. In response to the sound, man and beast heard the sound of a motorcycle engine turning over.
Shit, he’d never catch him now. He wasn’t going to give up. Enough was enough, this man had to die and Conner was willing to be the one that did it.
His bear ran full out, the pain and heat still burning through his leg and side. They ran in the direction of the motorbike. Tracking only by scent, but the man was long gone.
Finally slowing, the pain started to flare. Conner forced his animal to stop and looked at his leg.
Long black marks showed charred flesh, even on his bear the hair was burned off. Missing skin, meant missing hair. His side was blistered and bleeding, the burns more painful where the fire had licked at his skin.
What was left of his adrenaline was swiftly fading. Looking around, man and beast tried to get their bearings. They had run so far, without thought to their direction.
Conner realized they were close to the cave where he’d talked with his brothers. Telling his bear they needed time to heal, his bear was happy to find somewhere to rest.
Seeing the cave, Conner was ready to take back over. His bear growled, no he was right, Conner thought. He’d heal faster if he was shifted.
Walking into the cave, his bear lumbered to the dark cool area in the back and lay down, careful to avoid his injuries.
Conner was tired. He’d failed to run down Tony. He got hurt and he was furious at himself for letting his guard down. And most of all, he was mad that all he could think about was Mackenzie.
He knew he needed rest, so Conner let his human mind fall asleep, sure his bear was on watch.
* * * * *
Cage got the call from the foreman that someone had lit the slash piles on fire before they’d arrived. Conner’s truck was there, but they couldn’t find him anywhere.
The fire had spread, the additional fuel lighting the ground around the piles on fire too. The local fire department and the forestry service had been called in. The fire break was containing most of the problem, but they weren’t able to put everything out. They were waiting to see if they were going to have to let the whole thing burn.
It would devastate the area. They wouldn’t be able to replant for years. The ground would need time to recover. And if they couldn’t get the fire out, well then that was something Cage wasn’t ready to think about yet.
He called out Wyatt to handle the crews at the site and bring over any equipment the firefighters might need. Cage also called his mom to let her know what was happening. He knew he needed to find Conner.
Sitting on the couch at the main cabin, Mackenzie could hear the call from Cage. Conner was missing and there was a fire. She didn’t even hesitate to bolt out the front door. Sophie’s voice calling out to her to stop and Connie telling Cage she’d left.
Mackenzie didn’t care. All she could think of was Conner. Her cat was urging her to go faster. They rounded the back of the house and she managed to strip out of her clothes in record time. Shifting while she was still running, her cat took off, scenting the air for any sign of Conner.
Her animal ran towards the smell of smoke. Even miles away it was wafting over the tree tops. It must be a huge fire to create such a cloud. As the smell grew stronger, she picked up another scent, it was faint and smelled off, but it was Conner.
She tracked the scent up a hillside until she encountered a cave entrance in a rock wall. She knew Conner was in there.