Jordan leaped toward the river, his body fluidly changing from man to a massive mountain lion. A real-life animal with deadly fangs and powerful muscles, bigger than any mountain lion she’d ever seen in pictures, but his eyes looked almost the same as before. Almost. What in the world? Pain tried to drag her under and into darkness, but she fought it. The agony in her arm was so intense, she’d fall unconscious soon.
The lion bounded by them and crashed into the river downstream, water splashing in every direction.
Katie turned into a smaller lion and ran along the bank, her canines dropping and the fur ruffling down her back. How was any of this even possible? Darkness edged in from the corners of Dessie’s vision, and she tried to strengthen her hold on the toddler with her good arm.
The current smashed her into the male lion, her shoulders to his flanks. He was like a solid statue in the middle of the stream. Her head pitched forward, and she shoved Lark up so he’d stay above the surface. Lights flashed behind her eyes, and her injured arm exploded in agony. The air burst out of her lungs, and her ears rang. Darkness spiraled in even faster, turning her vision gray.
Then Garrett was there. She didn’t even see him coming. He stood tall and sure against the current as if even a rushing river couldn’t beat him. With a swift duck, he plucked her right out of the water, along with the boy, and fought the current to carry them to shore.
Dessie blinked, trying to remain awake. Her body shivered uncontrollably. Her arm had gone numb, but an echoing pain dug deep into her bicep.
Katie shifted back into human form, bare naked. She reached for the trembling toddler. “Cats don’t like the water, boy. You should know that.” She held her son close, her eyes filling with tears. “I never would’ve thought you’d jump into the river.”
Cats? Was this real?
Lark coughed out water. “I saw Sammy in water. Had to save my sister.”
Jordan’s frown darkened his entire face. “How old was Sammy?”
Lark sniffled. “Little like me.” He scrunched up his nose. “But it was Sammy.”
Katie held him closer, her eyes wide. “Sam did fall in the river as a young girl. But how does he know?”
Lark shivered. “She was wearing a green dress.”
Katie’s eyes widened.
Jordan growled. “Weird shit like this has been happening since the Seven messed with the laws of the universe, Garrett. Since two of the three artificially created worlds have crashed, our children are seeing past events in their heads. It’s nuts. My kid shouldn’t be psychically seeing an event that happened decades ago.”
Dessie couldn’t quite grasp what they were talking about.
Garrett fell to his knees and gently laid her on the ground. Water dripped from his thick hair, and his eyes had turned from gray to an intriguing blue with silver streaks. A shade she couldn’t quite name. Did eyes change colors? The world began to quiet as she turned inward with her pain, but she couldn’t look away from his rugged face.
“Dessie?” He pushed her hair away from her eyes and looked her over. His jaw tightened, and his gaze hardened. “You’re going to be okay.” He stared at her right arm. “We can get you to a hospital. Just hold on.”
She shivered and turned to look at her arm. The bone had snapped in two and was sticking out of her flesh with blood pouring in every direction. She screamed and then fell into silence as the darkness finally won. Her last thought before dropping into unconsciousness was that people could turn into mountain lions. Maybe she was already dead.
Chapter Ten
Garrett’s heartbeat pounded in his head.
Sam landed next to him, looking at the sharp bone halfway out of Dessie’s arm. “Shit. I’ve never seen a compound fracture like that.”
Neither had Garrett. Thank god the woman had fallen unconscious. He looked up at Jordan, who let out a piercing whistle.
“Doctor on the way.” Jordan’s hair dripped down his naked body now that he’d shifted back to human. He crouched and examined the arm. “This is bad, Garrett.”
A female ran up, her hair a dark brown and her eyes a lighter honey color. She knelt and studied Dessie’s arm, leaning in to sniff her neck. “I’m Dr. Nance. Shit, Jordan.” She looked at Garrett, her lion heritage evident in her angled cheekbones. “This is a human. No enhancements.” Confusion blanketed her features. “I can’t set the bone here. We need an operating room. This is the worst fracture I’ve ever seen.”
Garrett’s gut rolled. “The nearest hospital is three hours away.” He moved to lift Dessie.
The doctor grabbed his hand, halting him. “Three hours is too long. She’s losing too much blood.” She shook her head. “I can tie a tourniquet, but she’s going to lose the arm.”
Garrett’s chest ached with a pain he’d never experienced. Dessie’s face had turned stark white, and she lay so still he had to check her breathing. Shallow, but there.
Still on his haunches, Jordan looked across her to Garrett. “Did you fuck her?”
Rage lit Garrett’s body on fire, and his muscles bunched.
