When they pulled the truck into Nick's driveway, Steve was standing in the yard, waiting. As they carried in the groceries, he filled Nick in on what had been done.
"I called in reinforcements. I've got a few who are gonna set up a perimeter, staying hidden in the trees. No one will be sneaking up on us that way. They'll have to use the road to get anywhere close. No sign of anyone having been near the house, so it's likely, though not certain, they haven't been in the area long." Steve filled Nick in on the return trip to the truck, once Rebecca was out of earshot. She'd stayed in the kitchen to put away the groceries, Bobby staying with her, just in case.
"That's good. Priority is Rebecca. If it comes to it, I can fight for myself. Our advantage is they’ll be trying not to hurt her too badly. They want her alive, and we know it. We'll use it that our advantage if we have to."
"How do you plan on keeping them from trying over and over, just coming at us till we have nothing left?"
"I have a plan. One I'm certain will work. We may have a battle this time, but as long as we leave one alive to take a message back, they won't be back."
"Good to know."
Nick and Steve carried the last bags of groceries into the kitchen to Bobby and Rebecca, then went back out front to continue discussing their plans.
As they stepped out into the front yard, a large cougar came running up the short stretch of driveway from the trees. Steve darted forward, shifting as he ran, bits of clothing falling from his cat form as he leapt to meet the attacker mid-air.
Nick watched as the two fought, ready to shift and step into the fight if he had too. It was easy to tell the two opponents apart. Steve had a deep gold coat as a cougar while the attacker was a much brighter, cleaner yellow color. He watched them grappling with each other, teeth and claw bared. The newcomer got a good swipe of his claws down one of Steve's front legs and tore open the skin. Nick knew the wound would only piss Steve off and letting let out an almost human scream, Steve renewed his attack.
The scream brought Rebecca and Bobby running to see what was going on.
Nick heard them step out on the porch and motioned for them to stay there. Steve soon pinned the intruder to the ground, much the same way he'd pinned Rebecca when she'd first arrived. He stood behind the new cat, out of the way of teeth and claws as he sunk his teeth into the loose skin at the back of his neck and held him down. The pinned cougar fought, tried to regain his feet and continue the fight, but couldn't.
Nick stepped forward. "Concede." The cat in front of him scrambled for footing again, still unable to get up.
"We don't want to kill you if we don't have to," Nick told him. "I have a message for you to take back, but I want answers first. Shift and answer my questions then I'll give you the message and you can go home."
The pinned cat fought again for a few moments before he gave up. Nick saw the determination leave him as he huffed out a breath before quietly shifting.
He was a young, muscular boy, probably no more than twenty-two or twenty-three. Still young enough to believe anything he was told. He was covered with scratches and teeth marks from the fight.
"How did you find her?" Nick demanded as soon as his human form appeared.
"Humans," The boy said, moving into a sitting position.
Steve no longer had a grip on the back of his neck but he stayed close behind. As a cougar, he could easily catch the boy if he darted or tried to attack again. Nick stood quietly, waiting for more explanation.
The boy continued, "When she first took off her father went to the human police and reported her missing. It didn't take much to make it look like an abduction. In no time, he had her face all over the news. Any time she stopped running, humans would call in and report having seen her."
"How did you find her here?"
"Another human. We heard nothing for months, then suddenly a few days ago someone called the hotline and reported having seen her in town here. So they sent me to investigate. I caught her scent with yours. Saw her with you this afternoon."
"How did you find my house?"
"That was easy," the boy laughed. "All I had to do was go up to a member of your Chanat and say I was visiting the area and wanted to pay my respects to you. They told me how to find your place."
"Very well. You've answered my questions, now I'll give you my message. Remember it well, because the next intruder from your Chanat won't be so lucky.
"Tell your Kahn and Kadri that Rebecca is now my Karhyn. Any further attempts to capture or injure her will result in a war between our Chanats. Also, I'll take the entire situation to the Council. The attempt to force her into a marriage she didn't want. Hunting her for a year after she ran. The attack on me on my own territory. All of it.
"Furthermore, if I ever hear even a rumor that they are forcing anyone into marriage again, I'll take it to the council anyway. I don't care if they want to arrange marriages between consenting adults but I will not condone forcing anyone. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"You deliver the message. Tell them they can contact me directly if they have any questions."
"Yes, sir."
"Now get off my property and out of my territory. Steve, escort him back to his vehicle. Once you're dressed again, come to the house. We’ll take care of your wounds." Nick turned and went back to the house, stopping to put his arm around Rebecca and take her inside with him. Bobby stayed close to them both.
* * *
"See, I told you it would be okay, kitten," Nick assured her as they walked into the house. He took her into the kitchen and let her go so he could step into the laundry room and retrieve the first aid kit.
"But how can you be sure they won't keep trying to get me?" She was unsure.
"Because they won't want me going to the Council. They're trying to force you into the marriage to begin with was unethical," he explained. "Their chasing you down and hunting you for a year when you ran to escape it is just wrong. Those alone are bad enough. When you add in the attack in my territory in effort to abduct my Karhyn, the council will strip them of their positions. It wouldn't be long before they're eliminated completely. The Council would make it look like random animal attacks or they may just disappear, killed in animal form, but the Council wouldn't allow them to live to possibly try to regain their positions."
"Oh." She was unsure what to say.
He took her in his arms, hugging her tight. "So you're safe. Even if you choose to leave my Chanat, and me, they'll never come after you again. And they'd better never try to force anyone else into an unwanted marriage again either."
She took a deep breath and hugged him back. "I'm not going anywhere, and thank you for that. For stopping them from doing it to anyone else. I hate to think of anyone else going through what I've been living for the last year."
"Me too, That's why I added it." He bent and kissed the top of her head as he held her close, enjoying the relief that flooded through him at the knowledge she was safe and hoping that she would choose to stay. They stood together, neither speaking, neither moving until Steve came in the back door. He was barefoot again, wearing only a pair of jeans.
"He's gone." He stepped through the door from the laundry room. "I don't think we'll be seeing him again. He took off like you'd set his tail on fire."
At the sound of Steve's voice, Rebecca and Nick pulled apart, each heading to do separate things, as though they'd planned it.
Nick partially unfolded a bath towel on the table in front of the seat Steve sat in. "Lay that arm up here," he instructed, opening the large toolbox he kept first aid supplies in. "Let's see how much damage he did."
"It was a lucky blow, his dewclaw caught me."
"It's a good cut, deep and long. You may even needs stitches since you don't heal as quickly as the rest of us"
"Just clean it out and wrap it up. I'll be fine."
"I know, but this is gonna sting," Nick warned him as he started pulling bits of debris out with a pair of tweezers.
Rebecca stepped around Steve and set his coffee mug down in front of his uninjured arm. "Maybe that'll help some."
"Is it just coffee or did you doctor it?"
"That didn't occur to me, if you'll take a couple sips so there's room I'll grab a bottle, what do you prefer to mix with coffee?"
"Whiskey, I'm not picky about brand."
"I'll see what I can find," she replied heading for the library where Nick kept his liquor. When she returned a few minutes later with a bottle of Bushmills, Steve was standing at the sink, letting water run over the open wound, trying to wash out the smallest pieces of dirt.
"Grab another cup please, kitten," Nick asked from the table.
Steve shut off the water and curled his arm into the air so it wouldn't touch anything. He held a towel under his elbow to keep from dripping water and blood across the floor as he returned to the table.
Rebecca grabbed another coffee mug from the cabinet on her way by and took both the cup and the whiskey to the table.
"Pour about an inch into the cup and give it to him, then top of his coffee with it if you don't mind."
"Not at all." She poured the drink as Nick had requested and handed the mug with straight whiskey to Steve while she moved around him to top off his coffee. Steve tipped up the mug and drained it in one drink.
"Go for it." He rasped around the burn of the whiskey.
Nick picked up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it over the length of the gash. Steve hissed as he sucked in air but otherwise didn't make a sound as they let it sit for a few seconds. Nick dried the area with clean gauze before pulling the wound shut and crossing the pink, bleeding seam with tape to hold it shut. He wrapped the entire forearm in a bandage to keep the dirt out while it healed.
"Thank you, Steve. I'm sorry you were hurt while protecting me." Rebecca said. She started picking up the trash and laundry left from bandaging his wound.
"It's nothing, Becca. I'd gladly take a lot more to keep you from being hurt." Steve said.
"It's not nothing. It's a big deal. You, Nick and Bobby are the first people ever to stand up for me. I'm grateful for it."
"That you never had anyone stand up for you only shows how screwed up your old Chanat is. I’d rather not be cut up, but all-in-all, it's not a big deal, it'll be gone in a few day or two. You are my Karhyn and it's my job to stand up for you, to stand between you and an attacker. I would do it even if it weren't. Every woman deserves to be protected and cared for. Not exploited and used."
"Thank you, again." She bent down and gently kissed him on the cheek. "For everything."
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