Suddenly, the ground disappeared beneath Tyler’s paws. With a gasp, he found himself falling, surrounded by debris—branches, leaves, dirt. His vision was a blur of earth and near darkness as he thumped hard into the pit.
What the hell had just happened? Where was he? Fuck. A whimper was the only noise that escaped his mouth as he ascertained the damage. He sucked in a lungful of air and twisted his neck, craning to see where he’d come from. How far had he fallen?
Fear squeezed Tyler’s chest. Had Michael led him out here to kill him? Had this all been a great plan to dispose of the competition? He held his breath and narrowed his gaze, but no matter how hard he strained, he couldn’t get a good view of the top of the hole.
“Tyler?” The word rang out in his head, but he couldn’t respond. He couldn’t even catch his breath yet.
“Tyler?” The voice was louder this time, human. Michael had shifted back. “Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you.” Through the pile of leaves and twigs, Tyler strained to pull his body upright. He buckled under his own weight when he stood. One rear paw was twisted, sprained he hoped. “Fuck.” Tyler sat on his haunches and brushed the dirt from his eyes with his front paws. Finally he was able to get a clear view toward the sky.
Michael’s human head was leaning over the side of the hole. The light from behind left Michael’s expression in shadow. “Are you hurt?”
Should he answer Michael? What if he said yes? Would Michael leave him here to die? He opted to say nothing just yet and glanced around. The hole was deep, intentionally placed here. It was a trap. Meant for him? Or just meant for any animal in the forest?
It worked. Tyler had not seen it coming. A perfect blend of limbs and brush had been placed over the hole, and the two shifters had been running too fast to notice such a thing. Unless one of them knew it was there all along. Was Michael Masters scheming enough to have come out here into the woods yesterday and dig a hole to trap his competition on the off chance they went for a run? It was ludicrous, but Tyler wasn’t in any position to discount the possibility.
“Tyler?”
“I’m here.” Where else would I be? Could it be the worry he heard in Michael’s voice was all make-believe? Was Michael only pretending to be concerned in case Tyler hadn’t died in the fall?
“It must be a trap. Can you shift?”
“No shit. Ya think?” Should he tell the man he couldn’t shift? Tyler knew he needed to remain in wolf form with his ankle twisted the way it was. If it was broken, he could suffer untold damage shifting. It wasn’t wise. Besides, he’d heal faster in wolf form.
“Tyler? Dude, you’re scaring me. Are you injured?”
“Does it matter?”
“Does it matter? Of course it matters. What’s wrong with you? You’re acting all weird. Did you hit your head or something?”
Tyler stared at the shadowed head above him. Michael was lying on the ground next to the hole.
“Christ.” Michael shouted that one word, making Tyler flinch. “You think I did this?”
Tyler held his breath. Obviously he’d done a shabby job of keeping his thoughts to himself.
“Oh my God, Ty… I may have been a bit miffed that I had to share Alyssa but not that mad. I would never harm a flea. I…” Michael disappeared for a minute, and Tyler remained still. Had he misjudged Michael?
His ankle throbbed, and he twisted his head to try and assess the damage. It was too dark. He could smell blood and licked his ankle to ascertain how bad it was. Not bad. Just a small cut. The bleeding had stopped.
A shadow reappeared above. “Can you climb out? I can’t find anything to reach you with.”
“Nope.” Tyler glanced at the solid dirt walls around him. Even if he could climb, he’d get nowhere with his ankle in this condition.
Michael sat on the edge of the hole and leaned over. “I swear I didn’t do this to you. Please talk to me.”
If Michael had done this intentionally, would he still be hanging around?
“Listen, we’re going to get you out of there. I just need to think for a minute.” Michael’s voice was calm. “It would help if you told me what your injuries are.”
“Twisted ankle, I hope. Maybe broken.”
“Okay, so shifting is out. I get it. You need to stay in wolf form just in case.”
“I’m clear on that.”
Michael exhaled so loudly Tyler could hear him. “I’m sorry. Sorry for being such an ass earlier that I caused you to believe I’d actually kill you to get Alyssa for myself.” The apology sounded heartfelt. “In fact, if I don’t return to the farm with you, Alyssa will kill me, and then we’d both be dead.”