Panthera Spelaea Ch. 61-70

"He hasn't switched or bitten my fingers off yet," Tessa replied. "Bleeding from the shoulder is minimal, and the cuts on his torso can wait."

"Get me Lidocaine and a stitching tray," Anna said. She moved the light and magnifying glass in place and started poking around the entry and exit wounds. It took her ten minutes to make sure both were clean, some of which I felt until the drugs started working. "I'm sorry I took so long, but you switched to Lion and back, and that shifts the wound around. I had to make sure I got all the dirt and clothing bits out to prevent problems with healing." She closed both wounds with stitches, then taped gauze over them. "Sit up," she told me.

The towel stuck to my chest, and many of the cuts opened up again when they pulled it loose. None needed stitches, but Anna loosened the scabs with a wet towel and pulled them off to clean under them. With alcohol. And she had as little sympathy for me as Tessa did.

She spread antibiotic cream over them and bandaged the worst ones. "Leave your shit off and lie down here until they stop bleeding," she told me.

"I need to see Svetlana," I objected.

"I'll handle it." She was tossing her gloves in the garbage when the door to the surgical ward opened. Doc Margaret pulled off her mask and surgical cap and sat down in the chair. "How is she? Is the baby all right?"

"She'll pull through," Margaret replied. "The bullet penetrated her large intestine and liver, and there was significant internal bleeding. She's lucky you got her here when you did; another few minutes, and she would have bled out. She took five units of blood in there. I repaired the damage and flushed her abdominal cavity out the best I could. She was lucky it was far enough from her uterus, and the baby is small enough to avoid damage. I've started her on IV antibiotics, and we'll monitor for signs of infection. John, you can help her as soon as she's awake."

"Help her?"

"Your presence and your magic ejaculate. Did you forget it spurs healing and regeneration in a mate?"

Anna laughed. "Medically necessary blowjobs, coming up," she said. She patted my cock under the sheet as she leaned down to kiss me. "I'll take care of you both."

"I guess. Any sacrifice is worth it if it helps Svetlana recover." Even Tessa couldn't stop giggling. "It won't hurt her stomach?"

"I doubt any of it will make it that far. The Switcher healing is better than anything I can do. I remember when Elizabeth was still here; Art would sex her up, and by morning, it was like nothing happened. She never got hurt this bad, but I imagine your contribution will help just as much. My nurse is bandaging her up and preparing for transport. We'll move her to your guest cabin and get her settled in your bed. Skin contact with her mate speeds the healing."

"So I should be in bed with her?"

Doc nodded. "Avoid her wounds and your own, but yes, skin on skin contact. I've never dealt with a switcher with two mates, but Anna should be in there too. I'll brief her on post-op care while we get Svetlana moved."

"Thank you, Doc."

"Just doing my job." The nurse poked her head out and said Svetlana was ready. Doc called for a stretcher team to carry her up to our room. "Now get out of here. I've got more patients arriving soon."

I waited as two crew members arrived with the stretcher, and we brought Svetlana out of the operating room. I carried the IV bag, relegated due to my injured shoulder. A steward had the bed turned down and ready, and soon I was tucked in next to my injured mate. It had been a long night, and I was asleep as soon as the door closed again.

I woke to the warm sensation of a tongue on my cock. The covers were down to my waist, and a naked Anna was gently sucking me to hardness. To my left, Svetlana was stirring. Her moans were from pain and not pleasure like mine. "Anna," I whispered.

"Lana is waking up. Just relax, and I'll take care of you both." She was a skilled fellatrix, and I responded quickly.

Svetlana looked at me, then at Anna bobbing on my cock. "John?" It was so good to hear her voice again.

"You're back on board the Elements," I told her. "You got shot in the stomach, so don't move. I'm going to feed you to help you heal faster. Just relax, my love. Anna's taking care of everything."

It didn't take long before my backed-up balls were unloading into Anna's mouth, filling her cheeks until she looked like a chipmunk. She pulled off and directed the rest onto my stomach. She crawled up the bed, leaning down and feeding the healing goo to Svetlana with a kiss. When that was gone, she sucked up the remainder from my stomach and passed that along too. "You're going to heal up, and the baby is fine," Anna told her after they finished kissing. "We both love you so much."

"It hurts," Svetlana said with a grimace.

Anna got up and checked the post-op directions, then injected a painkiller into Svetlana's IV line. The relief was almost immediate. She updated both charts after taking vitals on us. "Both of you rest and heal up. I'll be back in a few minutes. I need to update the Doctor and bring some food for John. Lana, all you get to eat is John Juice for now."

That made her smile. "My favorite energy drink."

Anna pulled the covers back over me, and I took her hand. "Can you ask Art to see me when he's able? I can't leave Svetlana."

"Of course. Heal quickly, my loves. We have a lot of work to do."

My lion was in agreement with me on that. Mikhail and his people had attacked our friends, killing one and injuring my mate. He wanted blood on his teeth, but not now. I held Lana's hand as she drifted back to sleep.

Ch. 64

I woke again to Anna's tender ministrations. Svetlana was already awake, looking over towards me. Her color was a lot better now, and she smiled as she ran her hand over my chest. "How are you feeling?"

I looked down to where Anna was taking me to the root. "Oh, fuck," I said. "I could be missing an arm, and Anna's mouth would still make me feel fucking awesome." She grinned around my shaft as she kept working. "How are you doing?"

"It doesn't hurt much, just a dull ache. Anna says that's the painkillers talking." I looked at the clock on the wall to see it had only been two hours since we fell asleep. I moved my injured arm around, not feeling much pain from it. I used it to run my fingers through Anna's hair as she brought me closer to orgasm.

I didn't try to hold out, and I was getting closer. "It won't take much more to put me over," I told Anna as she swallowed around my shaft.

She popped off it. "Can you stand?"

She hopped off the bed and helped me sit up, then scoot to the edge. I stood up, and she grabbed my cock and led me to Svetlana's side of the bed. "I'll do the work, Lana, and you gulp down the reward." Anna dropped to her knees and started to blow me again. When I was there, Anna popped off of it. I leaned over the bed, putting the head where Svetlana could reach it. I started to cum as soon as she had her lips around the head and kept going and going as she gulped it down.

"Damn, you had a huge load going there," Anna said as Svetlana finally let go. "Much more than I'd expect after two hours of recharge."

"Do you think my lion knows she is injured? My body might be responding to her need."

Svetlana drank a little water then fell back to sleep. Anna pulled me into the bathroom. "I need to check your wounds," she said. "The cuts on your chest are already gone."

I hadn't even noticed, but she was right. She pulled off the bandages they'd put on the worst ones, showing pink areas around the newly healed flesh that closed up the cuts. "My arm didn't hurt much when I used it."

"The lidocaine has worn off by now, so it's likely your healing." She removed the gauze covering the entry wound. "Damn! You're putting me out of a job!"

The skin had healed closed, as had the slightly larger exit wound when that bandage came off. "No sign of infection. I want you to move your arm around slowly. Stop if you feel any pain."

I moved it in all directions, only stopping when raising it above shoulder level. "It doesn't hurt, but it's a little tight."

"That's enough. Given your healing rate after the Moscow shooting, it should be back to normal after lunch. Now get in the shower while I get help changing the sheets."

The warm water felt good, though I had to think of the last time I showered alone. I was one spoiled man. When I finished, Anna handed me clothes to get dressed. Doctor Margaret was out there checking out Svetlana's progress. "How is she doing, Doc?"

"Her vitals are much improved, and I can see the wound starting to heal. God, that's some magic stuff you're giving her. If I could bottle it, I'd be a rich woman."

"You'd have to fight my girls for it," I teased.

"It wouldn't do any good. We've tried using it with other injured people, but nothing happens unless they are mated. It's something I can't explain, yet it happens. Svetlana should be in a hospital for a week, but you'll have her back to normal by tomorrow. She won't even have a scar." That was good to know. Doc put on a new dressing and removed the IV. "I'll be back after her next 'treatment' is done at one."

I shook her hand. "Thank you for saving her. Without your skills, I'd have lost her."

"Nothing is more important than protecting your mates, John. Losing one is a blow that isn't easy to recover from. Trust me, I've seen what it did to Art."

"I'll do my best."

She left, and Anna pushed me into the hallway after her. "Art and his team need to talk to you."

"What about Svetlana?"

"I'll stay with her. Have the kitchen send a meal for me."

"I will. I love you, Anna."

"I killed a man today, John. I shot a man in the face, and I don't feel bad about it."

Guilt shot through my gut; I'd been so worried about Svetlana's injury, I forgot about how difficult it might have been for Anna. If she hit him with a pistol, it must have been up close and personal. For such a gentle soul, it was a shock. I pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, my love. It's not your fault; you did what you had to do to stay alive."

"I know, but I keep seeing it over and over in my head," she cried into my shirt.

I kissed her head. "We are all here because you stood against that man," I told her. "The guy with the rifle was going to shoot me as soon as I climbed up top."

"The eagle switcher took him out," Anna said. "Why?"

"I can't say for sure, but we know my Lion learned things about me and us in the background. Our minds have merged, but I bet the Eagle was able to search Todd's mind after he joined him. When he found out what a backstabbing, evil man he was, he might have decided to get himself a better option."

"How? He killed himself!"

"The animal switcher can't die; it just goes to the next host. I suspect he'd formed quite a bond with Ekatarina over the past century and wasn't happy with how Todd took her out. The Eagle is intelligent enough to move on when the host isn't suitable."

"How does that apply to you?"

I thought about it. "I'm not sure what my Cave Lion thought when he turned up in me thirteen thousand years later, but I know he's happy now. He loves you, and he's happy that we are alive, and they are dead. Sometimes, it's just that simple."

"I guess."

She leaned her head back, and I kissed her deeply. I wanted to leave no doubt how much I loved her. I wiped the tears from her cheek and opened the door back up. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"One hour, thirty-two minutes to your next blowjob," she said with a smile, licking her lips for emphasis.

There are worse appointments to keep.

I went down to Medical to talk to Doc Margaret. She was in her office and told me to come in when I knocked. "How are you doing, John?"

I sat down heavily in the chair across from me. "I need you to talk to Anna and Svetlana."

"About what?"

I gave her the condensed version of what happened on the island and Anna's confession of guilt. "The girls are nurses, Doc. What they went through was a shock, and Anna is struggling with what she did."

"And she might blame herself for Svetlana getting hurt," Doc added.

"And I haven't had a chance to talk to Svetlana about it yet. She fired her pistol as well."

"I'm not a mental health professional, John. No one on board is. I'll talk to them. If they need counseling, I'll refer them to a colleague. They can do video meetings; in fact, it might be good for the three of you to do the counseling together."

I nodded; together would be best. "Thank you." I got up to head up to Art's office.

"Wait," Doc said. "You did well in your first talk, so keep it up. Don't look at Anna differently because she killed to protect you all. She needs to know your love hasn't changed."

It was good advice. "Thanks, Doc."

I headed for Art's office to catch up on what had happened while I was with my girls.

Ch. 65

Art's office was jam-packed with people as I entered. It got quiet as I looked around at the people and the monitors around the room full of information on stocks and finances. "Ah, John," Art said as he waved me over to the conference table. "How is Svetlana doing?"

"Much better, thank you," I said as I sat down at the spot he indicated. "Thanks to you and your crew. If it had not been for the helicopter evacuation and the abilities of your medical staff, I would have lost her. We couldn't wait for an ambulance to show up."

"It was much too close, but now that she has your healing abilities, she will be fine," Duncan said. "What does not kill her can be restored to peak condition. Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"Your warning gave us time to take cover before the team after us was ready to attack. We killed one and captured the other. Zach has him below decks, and he is singing like a canary." Zach was the leader of the Security Department on the ship.

"How did they find us?"

"Cellphones," Art replied. "Todd had an accomplice who worked in our computer group onboard. She was the one who prepared the phones we gave you, and they were tracking out teams as we sent them out. She also was shunting our real-time communications and intelligence to Mikhail's people."

"Why?"

"Money. She was promised ten million dollars and a new identity in exchange for information that would allow Mikhail to obtain a Switcher. We didn't catch it right away because Todd was dating her younger sister back in England. The pair convinced her to betray our family for that. It is my family and my responsibility."

"He's a billionaire. Ten million is pocket change for him if it gains Mikhail his immortality," Edward said. "It's a new time. Never before has it been so easy to change sides."

"Or so lucrative," Art said with a sigh. "She told Zach that ten million dollars now was better than a lifetime of employment in the family business. It's enough to make me rethink everything."

"And yet these are the first two in over five centuries to turn on you," I said. "Anyone can be vulnerable if they dangle enough money or threaten what they hold dear. Despite the intelligence feed, Mikhail is not in a good position. We kicked the shit out of his mercenary force and took out two teams he sent to capture us. We know who he is, and we'll go on offense."

Art nodded in agreement. "Mikhail is heading back to Russia as we speak; he didn't stick around after his people failed." He tossed a photograph across the table to me. "Recognize this guy?"

It was a telephoto lens shot of four men leaving a helicopter. I recognized Mikhail Abrahmov and the man to his left. "This guy had the rifle."

"Abrahmov's second son. The Italian authorities are scraping him off the rocks right now. The others we captured or killed were part of his corporate security team. Mikhail isn't going to give up, and it's personal with you. You and your mates killed his boy."

Good. "Too bad Mikhail took off. My Lion wants his blood on my teeth."

"As does my Bear," Art said. "For now, we'll have to satisfy our need for revenge using economic means." He had all of the Karpen Investments department heads around the table, and all of them had been busy. How? Merchant banks called in his loans, forcing his company to use their liquid assets to keep operating. Bond companies downgraded his stocks, citing new information about shady investments and Russian government investigations. Investigations based on information supplied by 'whistleblowers' had already resulted in raids. Suppliers changed hands, the new companies breaking existing contracts and refusing to renegotiate. We'd known about Mikhail for less than a day, and we'd turned his company upside down.

I listened to the updates, impressed by the scale, but ultimately knew it wouldn't matter. "All of that was good and would make Mikhail's life more difficult, but it wouldn't stop him. He was dying, and this was his 'Hail Mary' pass to cheat death. If it costs him every last ruble he has, he'll keep trying. We have to kill him to stop him."

"Agreed," Duncan said. "None of us are safe while he is alive."

Edward nodded his assent. "We need direct action."

Art shook his head. "Mikhail isn't stupid. He took his shot and missed, and he knows we are coming after him. He's going to hunker down somewhere, protected by all the mercenaries he can hire, and pick his spot."

"Then we need to lure him out," Duncan said.

Art looked at him. "How? We can't risk exposing one of us to his people. If he gets lucky, he wins. I refuse to use one of us as bait."

I let out a smile as the idea hit me. "You're right, Art. Mikhail won't come out unless he thinks he can kill a Switcher. Still, we don't have to walk around as bait. We have to make Mikhail BELIEVE we are going to be somewhere and vulnerable. We bait the trap and wait for him to show up."

"And how do we do that?"

I grinned and tapped the table. "We have almost everything we need here on this yacht. It's time we used it."

"Used what?"

"Our traitor. We use her to feed Mikhail the information we WANT him to believe."

There were smiles around the table. "I like it," Duncan said. "Where?"

"I have people all over Europe, not just on this ship," Art said. "We pick a spot and get our people dug in and hidden before Mikhail can move anyone in."

"Not Italy," I said immediately. After the close calls with the law, I didn't want the ship anywhere near their territorial waters. "Someplace with plenty of open land and few people. It has to be accessible by boat."

"Greece could work. There are thousands of islands in the Aegean," the Captain said. "Most are rocky, but up in Croatia, they have more trees."

Art nodded. "Svetac Island would be ideal; we've used it to let my Bear out before. It's got a rugged landscape with plenty of trees and shrubs, no good landing areas for boats and helicopters, and it's fifty kilometers from the mainland. Best of all, it's privately owned, and he's a friend of mine."

After looking at some maps and talking it over, we had an agreement on a plan. Art told the Captain to proceed to the Croatian coastline. During the two-day transit, Art and his people would get people into place and transmit false information through the tap into the ship's computer systems. Art's people would request a boat and two security personnel to protect me on the island while I learned to hunt in lion form. Meanwhile, the Elements would transit up the Adriatic to Sibenik, Croatia.

Now, all we needed was a lion.

Ch. 66

Art finished directing his leadership on their subsequent actions before dismissing them from his office. There was a lot of work to be done, and the traitor's cooperation would be needed. I didn't ask what Art would do to her and her sister; it wasn't my problem. Olivia had her lunch delivered with Anna's in my room, wanting more time with her new friends.