Conn

By Susan A Bliler

Worn out and on the run, Aries Bracken’s life has quickly gone from bad to worse. Kidnapped by a team of mercenaries, she tries to convince their domineering commander that he has taken the wrong woman. She’ll play the helpless female until they slip up and when they do, she’ll be gone!

Skin Walker Commander Conn Drago’s mission was simple, retrieve the woman and deliver her for payment. However, he quickly discovers that not only is the beautiful and spirited Aries not the intended target; she’s also unaware of the fact that she too is a Skin Walker. When Conn realizes others are hunting Aries as well, he can’t fight his compulsion to protect her. He’ll have to battle both her unknown enemies, his own Skin Walker kind, and Aries’ desire to be free to claim what he has decided belongs to him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan A Bliler
• Release date: Apr 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310047336

Susan A Bliler

My pack territory is in Central Montana, between Stone Crow estates and the North Fortress. Born and raised in an untamed location that bridges the gap between rolling prairies and majestic mountain peaks, I am born to a family that also bridges the gap between cultures. My father’s people boast a fiercely proud Scottish ancestry while my mother’s tribes descend from two savagely beautiful and unique nations that inspire my Skin Walkers series. I'm a huge fan of MMA, boxing, hockey, 30 Seconds to Mars, Linkin Park, DMX, the Killers, and 21 Pilots (“sometimes quiet is violent”). I also love to read because it encourages me to write. (I hate it when authors add that they love coffee and chocolate. Really? Who doesn't love coffee and chocolate?) Anyway, I love beer...kidding. I don't love beer but we are engaged in a very serious relationship. (Mom, please don't call me when you read this.) Check me out at www.susanbliler.com Please leave feedback. Believe it or not I actually read your opinions/suggestions and try to adapt my work accordingly. A’hau.

Book preview

Chapter 2

Aries woke, but kept her eyes closed and her breathing even. She didn’t know what time it was or where she was for that matter.

Chopper’ll be here in twenty Conn.

Conn? Memory came flooding back. She’d been captured!

Well, let’s get moving. I need a hot steak and a cold beer.

She recognized the voice. It was the man she’d tried to shoot. Conn. Is he their leader?

You sure you’re okay boss?

Ask me again and I’ll show you how okay I am. James, you and Shane go on ahead as recon. York and I will follow with the woman.

Conn, James, Shane, and York. She committed the names to memory, though she didn’t know why; she didn’t expect to survive this ordeal. She took a quick inventory of her body. She didn’t feel beaten or used. They hadn’t raped her while she’d been unconscious and that realization was surprising. What else could they want her for besides the bullshit story of a brother seeking her out? Her hands and feet were free. Either they didn’t think much of her as an adversary, or they didn’t think she’d attempt an escape. Suckers! She’d make them pay for that underestimation the first chance she got.

Conn’s order was short. Bring the woman.

She heard boot heels stomp closer before she opened her eyes and sneered. I can walk.

The man half-crouched to pull her up from the couch had a red goatee. His long, satiny red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck and his green eyes darted from Aries to Conn. He was handsome and young. Aries guessed him to be about her age, which was nearly twenty-four.

Aries slid her eyes from the Celtic looking warrior in front of her to the imposing figure frowning at them from the door.

Conn looked from Aries to York before he turned as if the matter didn’t concern him. Fine. Let her walk.

York righted himself and held out an arm indicating Aries should follow Conn out the door.

Defiantly, she dropped her feet to the floor and stood before swaying dizzily. York grabbed her shoulders, but she shoved his hands away. I fucking got it.

Surprised, the large man snorted and shook his head, a light smile touching his features. A feisty one. I like it.

Aries lifted her chin, shuffling through her living room and out the front door into the pre-dawn jungle. Her head was pounding painfully, and there was a sharp pain centered in the pit of her stomach. She knew the headache was from the tranquilizer and chalked the stomachache up to her nerves. She’d had the stomachache often in the past few years and wondered if she didn’t have an ulcer, but she couldn’t afford the time or expense it would take to see a doctor.

Outside, it was cold and still dark, but she knew by the sounds of the animals that were coming to life that sunrise was drawing near. She figured the men had caught her sometime around ten, and she guessed the time now to be around four a.m. Shit, I’ve been out for six hours!

She trudged after Conn, intentionally trying to put some space between herself and the much larger man.

York, the Celtic warrior at her back had different plans. If you can’t keep up, I’m going to have to carry you.

Aries threw a sneer over her shoulder before picking up her pace by a fraction. She didn’t want to be carried, but she knew her odds of escape were better if she only had to get away from York rather than York and the fierce looking Conn.

She nearly lost her balance when York shoved her shoulder from behind.

Faster woman!

She spun on him, balling her hands into tight fists as she glared up at the red-haired giant.

York stopped short, staring down at her first in shock then amusement as his eyes slid down to her fists. Do ya' want to take a swing at me then?

Aries staggered her feet, evenly distributing her weight in preparation for the punch she intended to throw. When something wrapped around her throat, she reached up and instinctively grabbed it seconds before she was jerked backwards. She spun, her body thrown off balance, and landed on one knee before glaring up at Conn, who stood frowning at her holding the end of the rope that was now a noose around her neck.

She rose slowly from the ground, her hands still gripping the rope around her throat as she glared at Conn. Then her lips curled in derision as she scoffed over her shoulder, Later then, chump!

York growled and took a menacing step toward her.

York! Conn snapped. When Aries looked forward, Conn wordlessly tossed the rope to York. The Celtic beast smiled at Aries before tugging on the rope, pulling her after him.

So much for her plan of lagging behind. The rope cinched tight around her neck and with both men now in front of her, she took advantage of the opportunity to shake her head a few times. She needed to clear her head of the residual effects of the tranquilizer that had her vision still a little hazy. She would never admit it, but she was feeling nauseated and slightly off, equilibrium wise. Fuckers! Without much choice in the matter now, Aries sucked it up and kept pace.

She eyed the two men from behind, sizing them up. Clearly mercenaries. Both carried assault rifles and were built like linebackers.

When the sun finally rose, it glinted off something around the man called York’s neck that caught her attention. Looking more closely, she noted that he wore a stiff, silver band around his neck. Her eyes snapped to Conn, remembering the way a similar object banded around his throat had flashed brightly before he’d taken a knee in the jungle.

Several minutes later, they stepped into a clearing where a large, military-type helicopter sat parked in the center of her jungle. At the sight, her heart rate picked up. Someone was going to a great deal of expense. She cleared her throat as York tugged on the rope, drawing her closer to the waiting helicopter where Shane and James held defensive positions with their rifles at the ready, scanning the jungle as if expecting an attack.

"Look, you’ve got the wrong person. Let’s make this simple for you. I don’t have a brother."

York spun and smiled at her. Sure. Next you’ll be tellin’ us that your last name’s not EnemyHunter.

Aries frowned as she pulled back on the rope with both hands, using her body weight to assist even as York reeled her closer. "It’s not. My last name’s Bracken." She growled in frustration as Conn walked up and grabbed her by the arm before lifting her into the helicopter.

Conn followed her in, as did York. Shane and James kept their rifles pointed toward the jungle and only jumped into the chopper as it lifted off the ground. None of the men spoke to the pilot, and he didn’t seem at all concerned that the group had obviously just kidnapped her.

I don’t know who’s paying you boys, but you’re about to find out that you’ve fucked up royally.

York looked from Aries to Conn. She could tell by his look that he was inclined to believe her. Conn, on the other hand, ignored her completely.

Several minutes into the flight, Conn pulled a map from the leg pocket of his fatigues and motioned for his men to come closer. Conn sat across the cabin, in the furthest seat from Aries. York and Shane, who’d been on either side of Aries, both took a knee in front of Conn as James slid down his seat to get closer to their Commander as the group huddled, quietly discussing some unknown plans.

Watching them, Aries saw that James and Shane also wore the same band around their throats. She wondered if it was some new military device.

As the men talked, Aries inched closer and closer to the open doors of the helicopter. When she felt Conn’s eyes on her, she feigned a slight tremble, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing up and down in what she hoped was the appearance of a woman cowering in the grip of her fear of heights. It worked. Conn snorted his derision at her weak reaction, turning his eyes back to the plans he and his men were scanning intently.

Before any of them even realized what was happening, Aries dropped to her knees and rolled. Her arms snaked out and snagged a bundled parachute just as her body was sucked out the door of the helicopter. Four sets of eyes snapped to the open door.

Holy fuck! James’s tone was reverent.

Conn and his platoon wasted precious seconds as they stared dumbly at the now vacant doorway before Conn finally broke free of his disbelief. Get your asses out there! His words were a low, harsh growl, filled with self-disgust. In response, York, James, and Shane quickly donned chutes before dropping wordlessly from the still moving copter as Conn barked orders for the pilot to circle back.

What the fuck was wrong with her? Surely, she had to know that if he wanted her dead, she would be. Conn shoved an angry hand into his short, brown hair, even as the thrill of the chase excited him more than he’d been in years. No one had ever run so hard, or made such a daring and death-defying attempt at escape. His lips curled into a satisfied smile even as he lifted a packed nylon parachute. He simply stared at it for a moment before dropping it to the floor of the cabin and diving out of the helicopter’s cabin. He and his men were to use the highest level of discretion regarding their shifting abilities, but the adrenaline surging through him, along with the thrill of the chase, had him throwing caution to the wind. They were in the jungle after all.

Conn shifted mid-drop, and when he spread his wings, the five-foot span of his Golden Eagle form caught enough wind to send him shooting in the direction he wanted to go. He soared over the four chutes of his men as they floated down to the forest floor. Opening his beak, a high-pitched screech let his men know that he’d shifted and would be in front of them. It also let them know they were free to change form.

Chapter 3

Aries cursed aloud several times. Christ, am I gonna hit every fucking branch on the way down?

She had the wind knocked out of her as her ribs met yet another thick branch. She couldn’t let go of the opened chute she held clutched to her chest, so she couldn’t afford her body any protection from the impact of her poor landing.

When the other side of her ribs crunched against another branch, she finally dropped the chute and clutched the branch tightly with both arms before dropping her eyes to the ground. She sucked in a breath at the pain resonating from her ribs as she shimmied further out on the branch then let go, dropping none too gracefully to the hard earth.

She rose quickly and scanned her surroundings, listening for a moment before she ran in the opposite direction from the helicopters heading. She knew they’d be after her soon. These mercenaries hadn’t traveled all the way to South America just to let her slip through their fingers, so she’d make as much of her head start as she could.

Her ribs ached, and dragging in ragged breaths only made her side hurt more, but she knew she had to push past the pain if she hoped to escape. My brother’s looking for me? These guys are way off their fucking mark if I’m the best they could come up with.

She didn’t have siblings, she knew she didn’t. There wasn’t even an ounce of hope that there existed a long-lost brother. She’d been raised by her mother and had been an only child. She’d also been six years old, and in the car with her mother when she’d lost control one fateful night and rolled the vehicle four times. Her mother died at the scene.

Her slippered feet were nearly silent as she raced across the forest floor. She had a general idea where she was, but that didn’t mean much. She had no provisions, no water, no food, no weapons, and she was wearing nothing but a flimsy slip and ballet slippers. If the men on her ass didn’t catch her or kill her, then dehydration or jungle predators would surely do the job. Not to mention the torrential rains that were frequent in the summer months. Unlike back home, South America’s summer months ran from September to March. Aries shivered at the thought of being caught in one of the severe storms wearing what she had on.

With little else to do, she pushed on. She knew the forest was littered with small villages, but the ones that took kindly to strangers certainly couldn’t afford to give her anything she’d need to survive, and mere coins would purchase the platoon any information the villagers had of her whereabouts.

Her run slowed to a pitiful excuse for a jog as her adrenaline wore off. She was exhausted, and her limbs were starting to feel like jelly. Fucking tranquilizer! Add to that the fact that her brain was throbbing so badly she almost wanted to give up. She was in bad shape, and her future certainly didn’t look too bright.

Come on girl, you’ve eluded them for three fucking years. You can do this! The pep talk did little to raise her hopes. She exhaled before stopping and dropping onto a log, lowering her head into her hands. If this fucking headache would just go away. Her head snapped up at a noise in the trees overhead. She scowled at the bright-eyed creature staring down at her from above. Just a bird. She dropped her head back into her hands and tried to catch her breath, even as hopelessness descended on her. They’re gonna kill me. They’re going to catch me and fucking kill m…wait a minute. Her head slowly rose from her hands as she lifted her face toward the treetops again, slowly straightening from the log on which she’d been perched. There aren’t any Golden Eagles in South America. She stood and turned, eyeing the bird suspiciously, as it stared down at her, its head tilting as it watched her.

Aries watched the bird as she again started to jog. What is that eagle doing here? She’d been born and raised in Montana. She knew a Golden Eagle when she saw one, and the bird that was now flying overhead, following her path, was definitely a Golden Eagle. Is it a sign, an omen? Damn, this doesn’t bode well for me.

She clutched at her aching ribs as she picked up her pace. The beads of sweat on her overheated flesh had her slip clinging to her like a second skin. She jumped a fallen tree and the jarring of her landing had her pressing her hand tighter to her ribs. God that hurt!

Her eyes darted overhead, and she was startled to discover the eagle still shadowing her. As she passed a tree, she ripped off a branch and stopped long enough to throw it at the massive bird. The eagle tilted his head back, and its loud, piercing scream rent the air.

Fuck! Stupid bitch! She’d just given away her position. She dropped her hand from her side and broke into a dead run. How could I be so fucking stupid! Shiiiit! Her ears picked up the heavy thud of footfalls from somewhere close behind her. They were on her tail.

She was in excellent shape. She had to be. Her impressive fitness had kept her alive more times than she could count, and today she’d relied on it more than she ever had before.

Her arms pumped back and forth, and she heaved in harsh breaths as her legs pounded the earth. She jumped fallen trees, logs, and stumps and ducked under low-lying branches. The long black hair that didn’t cling to her sweat soaked face trailed behind her like a satiny flag. Her only choice was to run until she couldn’t run anymore and pray that her enemies couldn’t keep