Page 79 of Mitchell's Untamed Mate

Timmy shook his head.“No.She told me not to tell anyone unless they asked.She said she would be back later.”

“Mitchell, the shifters....”Tracy said, her voice fading with worry as all eyes turned to the opening.

“We need to be ready.Everyone, move to the back of the cavern.Connell, Thomas, Chaz, secure the back tunnel.Paulette, Harmony, you help the elders.Harry, Tom, gather the emergency supplies.Janna, you, Maria and Kelsey help gather the younger kids and take them to the safe area,” Mitchell ordered.

Tracy knelt on one knee in front of Timmy.“Timmy, I need you to put your shoes on and wear your warmer clothes.”

Timmy nodded.“Yes, ma’am.”

Tracy rose and looked at him.“What is your plan?”

Mitchell studied the entrance.It was too large an opening to defend.Their best plan was to move everyone to a narrow tunnel at the back of the cavern and hope whoever was coming didn’t see it.The tunnel splintered in different directions.They used two sections during inclement weather as bathrooms for the group.There were three other sections where time and weather had split the rock.Those sections were long and narrow, but deep.It was possible they could hide in them.If they were lucky, whoever had fired the weapon would think they had abandoned the cave and not search the narrow cracks in the mountain.

“Is it possible it is your people?”he asked.

Tracy glanced back at him with a troubled expression.“I don’t know.Unless something bad happened, I can’t imagine them shooting.You don’t think Jayden—” her voice faded on the question.

Before he could answer, Jayden appeared in the entrance.“I had nothing to do with what’s going on,” she announced.

Mitchell's expression twisted into a scowl as he locked eyes with Jayden.Her outfit was a striking combination of a white, rabbit-furred coat and bleached leather trousers.Her white-blond hair was shielded from the cold by a snug white fur cap.Against the snowy backdrop, she appeared ghostly, her figure blending into the white landscape.

“Where have you been?Did you see anything?”he demanded.

Jayden glanced at Tracy before returning her attention back to Mitchell.“Blood about two-hundred-yards from here.There were two different spots.I was coming back from checking my traps when I spotted the footprints in the snow.There were at least two, whoever they were.From the amount of blood I saw, I don’t think they are alive.”

“Where did the bodies go?”Tracy asked.

Jayden shrugged.“There was a line of droplets going over the cliff but no tracks.If I had to guess, I’d say whoever attacked the guys has flown off with them.”

Tracy shook her head in disbelief.“That’s impossible.There are no shifter bird species large enough to lift a full-grown shifter off the ground.Hell, Rigo is built like a tank and even he couldn’t lift a full-grown shifter more than an inch or two off the ground in his Golden Eagle form.”

Jayden leaned on the lance she was holding and gave Tracy a piercing glare.“I know what I saw.”

“The gunfire we heard was farther away.Did you see anything else?”Mitchell said with an impatient wave of his hand.

“No.I’m sorry, but my first instinct was to make sure everyone else was okay.Once I saw the tracks and the blood, I focused on the cave.I was afraid that—that theOthershad killed some of us and the blood was from someone here.I can go see what is going on now that I know everyone is alright.They are, aren’t they?Everyone—no one is hurt?”Jayden asked, her voice growing terse with emotion as she looked around him.

“Everyone here is safe.I have them moving to the back of the cave.I don’t want you going back out.It is better if we stick together,” he said.

“My brother and the evac team should be here within the hour,” Tracy said.

“We may not have an hour.If whoever is out there is this close, we need to stop them.Our first priority is to protect the clan,” Jayden argued.

Mitchell looked outside.Jayden was right.If two attackers had made it as close as a few hundred yards, that meant there were others—including those who had attacked whoever was out there.He needed to assume they were a threat as well.

“Jayden, I want you and Tracy to stay here.I will go,” he said.

Tracy touched his arm and shook her head.“No.I will go.In my grizzly form, I can cover more ground.I’ll also smell another shifter, and if it comes down to a fight, I have the best chance.There are few shifters who can defeat a grizzly.”

“Are you immune to their weapons?”he asked.

She hesitated and shook her head.“No.I’m not immune to bullets, but I’ll know they are there before they can use them.”She tapped her nose.“Gun powder is pretty strong.”

Jayden lifted her chin.“I’m faster and quieter than you, Mitchell.I’m also already dressed for it.Tracy and I will go.The clan needs you here.You are a better fighter.”

Fear threatened to choke him as he studied the intense expressions on the two women standing in front of him.Deep down, he knew they were right, but it went against everything in him to let them go into the unknown where they would face danger.He looked over his shoulder.Paulette and Elaina were guiding a weak Cyrus toward the back while Maria and Kelsey were trying to calm the little ones.

“Go, but…,” he paused and looked at both of them with an intense stare before he continued, “you better watch each other’s back and get back here in one piece.”

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