The Gathering (Darkness Rising 1)

"Annie," I whispered.

Rafe looked over sharply. He tried to make eye contact, but I turned back to the ridge. Blood pounded through my veins so hard it hurt.

Annie. The cougar below was Annie.

As crazy as it sounded, I never once thought, "But that's impossible!" Because I knew it was true.

I saw that dark patch on her haunch and I knew when she was human, there'd be a birthmark in the same place. I knew what it meant for her. And I knew what it meant for me.

Ye

e naaldlooshii.

Skin-walker.

TWENTY-SIX

WHEN I REACHED THE bottom, I knelt beside the fallen guy. I checked for a pulse, but his staring eyes told me he was dead.

I thought of Mina Lee. Eaten by a cougar. Possibly killed by a cougar. I glanced over at Annie, then tore my gaze away. I couldn't think about that now. I couldn't think about a lot of things now.

Rafe noticed the hole in my jeans and realized I'd been shot. It was only a graze. Slap on a bandage and I'd be fine.

He crouched beside the cat as he checked her injuries, and if there was any doubt that it was Annie, it disappeared as I watched her letting him touch her hurt foreleg, only whimpering when he brushed a sore spot. I crouched beside them, and she stretched her head back and nudged me, giving a chirp of greeting, eyes closing as she rubbed her head against me.

"Is it broken?" Rafe asked me.

I ran my fingers along her leg.

"It doesn't seem to be," I said. "I think it's just a sprain. It should be wrapped, though. Can she ...?" I swallowed. "Can she Shift back? To human?"

"She will, but it's not really ..." He paused. "It isn't under her control. She just will." He looked at me. "I know you have a lot of questions--"

"All of which can wait. Give me your jacket. I'll wrap her leg and see if she can stand on it."

He stripped out of his denim jacket. Underneath he was wearing the same sleeveless tank top he'd had on on Saturday. When he twisted, once again I saw the dark edge of what I'd presumed was another tattoo. I remembered yesterday, when he hadn't wanted to take off his shirt to wrap the arm.

I caught the armhole of his shirt and pulled it away before he could stop me. There, below his shoulder, was a paw-print birthmark.

For a second, I couldn't breathe. I just stared at that mark until he tugged the fabric from my fingers.

"Maya ..."

I turned back to Annie. "Hold her still. This will hurt."

He leaned down, trying to catch my gaze. "Maya ..."

"Hold her," I snapped. "We need to get her to safety and take care of--" I glanced at the dead guy and couldn't bring myself to finish, so I just looked over at Rafe and said, "I'm guessing you don't want to take this to Chief Carling?"

He shook his head. "I can't."

"Then we have work to do."

I didn't need to splint Annie's foreleg. I'd just set to work when she started her Shift back, and I don't know what I expected--a screaming, tortured transformation, I guess--but instead she started to twitch and quiver and whimper, and Rafe told me to get back, then she was human again.

It only took a couple of minutes as she morphed in a process that looked more like something from a sci-fi movie than a horror flick. It took a lot out of her, though, and she lay there, curled up in a ball, gasping and panting, naked and covered with sweat.

Then she sat up, looked around, saw me, and crawled over. She curled up, half in my lap, like a scared child, shivering, her heart pounding, snuggling against me for warmth. After a moment's hesitation, I hugged her and told her it would be okay as Rafe draped his jacket over her. Within minutes, she was asleep.