Into the Mist (Falcon Mercenary Group #1)(38)

“Oh shit,” Eli murmured.

“What’s wrong with him?” Tyana whispered. “Why doesn’t he just shift back?”

He didn’t answer. His attention was fixed on Braden, trying to see if he was moving. He prayed to God Ian hadn’t attacked him in jaguar form.

“Ian,” Eli called. “Ian, goddamn it, you have to let me go to him.” He felt stupid for talking to the damn cat. There was nothing of Ian inside, not when he was in shifted form. But he was starting to feel desperate. How could he sacrifice one brother for the other? He couldn’t hurt the jaguar. Ian had no control over his actions. He became the predator.

The jaguar snarled again and stalked slowly toward Eli and Tyana. Eli shoved Tyana behind him and held her there with one arm. He could shift and easily evade the cat, but it would leave Tyana unprotected.

Braden stirred and Eli heaved a sigh of relief. At least until the jaguar turned when it sensed Braden’s movement. The cat padded back to Braden, and Eli knew he was going to have to intervene. He wouldn’t stand back while Braden was mauled.

“If this goes bad, you get your ass back to the house,” he hissed in Tyana’s direction.

Then he let go, let the air swallow him whole. He streaked toward the jaguar as he bent his head to sniff at Braden’s chest.

Eli curled around the muscular neck of the jaguar, but to his surprise, the cat nuzzled against Braden, licked his cheek and backed off.

And then he began the shift.

Eli retreated, materializing a few feet away as Ian fell to the ground, his muscles contorting. The cat hissed in pain as his limbs elongated. His body rippled as fur and skin stretched and faded. Eli winced as the human face stretched in agony as Ian finally came back to himself.

Ian panted and a groan worked itself from the depths of his chest. He opened his eyes and looked first at Braden lying beside him and then turned his tortured gaze to Eli.

“What have I done?” he whispered.

He struggled to get up and collapsed to the ground again. Eli rushed forward to help him, but Ian shrugged him off as he fought desperately to get to his brother.

“Ian, he’s alive. I’m not even sure he’s hurt.”

Still, Ian pulled himself to his brother, and Eli knelt beside them both.

Braden blinked with glazed eyes. His muscles twitched and spasmed, and a heavy sweat bathed his entire body.

“Braden,” Ian croaked. “Are you okay? Talk to me, man.”

“I’m good. I think,” Braden whispered, his voice hoarse and laced with pain.

Eli felt Tyana walk up behind him. “Back off,” he growled.

The two brothers looked up at Tyana in confusion.

Eli stood and whirled around, anger and his need to protect his men uppermost in his mind. “I said, back away.”

She stared past him, not even absorbing his demand. Confusion simmered in her eyes as she stared at the brothers in a mixture of sympathy and horror.

“What’s wrong with them?” she asked. “Why didn’t they just shift back?”

“Because they can’t. You should know this, Tyana. You said Damiano was the same. They’re as unstable as he is.”

She shook her head, tears swimming in her eyes. “But you’re stable. You can control it. I thought…I thought they would be able to as well.”

And then Eli knew. That was what she wanted. It was why she’d risked her ass to chase him across the globe. She thought he had answers that would help her brother. How could he tell her that there was no answer? That he was the freak, not Damiano. Not Ian and Braden.

Ian rose unsteadily to his feet, pulling Braden up with him. Eli gave them his attention then shot Tyana a sharp glance. “Help me get them back to the house.”

She didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around a naked Braden as he leaned heavily on her. He didn’t seem to care that a complete stranger was hauling him toward the house. He looked too washed out and exhausted to process much of anything.

Eli grabbed on to Ian and slung Ian’s arm across his shoulders. Then he started forward, dragging Ian’s weight with him.

As he watched Tyana struggle with Braden’s much larger form, he wondered if she’d make it back, but she didn’t complain, nor did she let go of Braden.

Eli cursed when he realized she was taking the brunt of Braden’s weight on her wounded shoulder.

Several long minutes later, Tyana and Eli hauled the brothers into the house and toward their bedrooms.

“Hold up right here,” Eli instructed Tyana as he reached over and leaned Braden away from Tyana and against the wall. “Sit tight a second and I’ll come back to help you get him into his room.”

Tyana nodded wearily.

Eli grunted as he heaved and tugged at Ian. He finally got him muscled over to the bed and leaned him down. Ian sagged against the pillow and his eyes opened, dull and shadowed.

“Did I hurt Braden, Eli? Tell me the truth. Did I attack my own brother?”

“No, man. I wouldn’t lie to you. You know that. You were protecting him. From us. He was out of it from the shift. You watched over him.”

Ian closed his eyes in relief. “Tired,” he murmured.

“Rest, dude. You’ll be hungry as hell when you get up. I’ll try to make sure there’s something to eat.”

Ian cracked a half smile. “Won’t you be too busy with your lady friend?”