by M. L. Briers
“Mari’s, indisposed.” Justice warned him. The last thing they needed was a damn bear scenting her breeding cycle and going all native.
“Yes, even I’m not going anywhere near her tonight, and for the next few days.” Connor grinned.
It was a brave man that took on an unmated female during her breeding cycle, a brave and rather drained man at the end of it.
“I need you to take me to her,” Cole could feel his bear pushing hard to be set free, and he pushed back twice as hard, but he didn’t know how long he could keep that up.
“Read my lips, Cole. Not – going – to – happen.” Justice growled out and Cole’s eyes flashed with rage.
“You don’t get it, Alpha –”
“He doesn’t want it, especially as Mari has a crush on him.” Connor chuckled and Justice growled in annoyance, but it was nothing compared to the roar of rage that tore out of Cole’s throat.
“She’s – my – mate!” Cole roared out, a moment before his bear burst from within him.
“Oh, crap!”
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CHAPTER FIVE
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Connor moved fast to escape the set of razor sharp claws that came at his throat. He wrapped a hand around Justice’s upper arm and wrenched the alpha with him as Cole’s bear went wild.
The beast reared up onto his back paws and roared like a devil-bear and the whole damn barn shook with the beast’s rage.
“He’s your problem now,” Connor chuckled as he climbed up to one of the ledges and reached down for Justice’s wrist, hauling the man up with him as the bear made a wild run at them, only breaking off at the last moment so that he didn’t butt his head into the wall.
“How is that my problem?” Justice growled.
He knew when to tangle with a pissed off bear and when not to, and when you were the one that was standing in between a bear and his mate… that was a good time not too.
“Mari’s pack. He’s Mari’s mate, and that makes him pack too.” Connor chuckled and Justice growled and groaned at the same time.
“Another bear?” He watched Cole’s beast turn on his paws and head for the door. Then he jumped down and followed him. “Never going to happen. He’ll want Mari in his clan.”
“That’s the best of both worlds, you’ll get rid of a trouble maker who doesn’t like the witches.” Connor followed Justice down as they stalked after the bear. “Although, I’ll kind of miss her, she definitely livened things up around here.”
“This isn’t livened up enough for you?” Justice growled back and Connor snorted a chuckle.
“Not yet,” Connor grinned and Justice shot him a glare.
“Well, how about this. Mari is out there somewhere on pack land. In her breeding cycle, with one pissed of bear mate of her trail, and he thinks that Mari is sweet on me.”
Connor bit out one curse after the other. He could have ripped his own damn tongue out of his head for what he’d done.
“That’s not…” he shook his head, “happening.” Connor bit out.
“And we can’t call the pack out to find her first, because she’s on her breeding cycle and would have all the males chasing their damn tails after her scent.” Justice growled. “Are you getting the picture now?”
“Including you, Alpha.” Connor warned him. “You’re not immune to the effect a breeding cycle has on you.” Connor reminded him and Justice roared in anger.
“Find her, Connor. I’ll send out some of the mated wolves to help you.” Justice took off his for his truck. Once again, just like when Mari had been injured by Tyler, he was helpless to act when one of his pack needed him. When she’d needed him.
He had to wonder what the hell good it was being the alpha when you were hogtied and bound by circumstance.
Sometimes, it wasn’t good to be King.
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Justice had used the pack’s psychic link to call his brothers to act in finding and protecting Mari from Cole’s bear.
Maverick, Rowan, and Callum had all found their mates, and although Mari’s breeding cycle would make them as horny as hell, they would be horny for their own mates and not the she-wolf. It was the best that he could do.
He’d driven straight to Tyler’s cabin in the heart of the woods. Mari’s bear friend was also mated, and her breeding cycle would have even less impact on him. Although, if he’d been an unmated bear, he might have chased her down, but mated and a bear meant that her scent wouldn’t do a damn thing for him.
It hadn’t taken more than a few words of explanation; namely, Cole, Mari, breeding cycle, mate, and hunt, to get Tyler’s backside out of the door. Tyler and Cole might have been from the same clan, but there was no love lost between them and their personalities were poles apart.
“If he hurts her, mate or not, I’ll kill him.” Tyler growled out.
“That works for me,” Justice called out after him, as Tyler’s mate, Chelsea eyed the alpha from the doorway.
“You don’t mean that,” she smiled, sensing that Justice just might.
“You met Cole yet?” Justice asked and she shook her head.
“Let’s hope you can keep it that way,” he winked at her, before he started back for his truck. The last place he wanted to be was out in the open in the middle of the woods where he could pick up the she-wolf’s scent. He didn’t need this thing going from bad to worse.
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There were two things a female she-wolf wanted to do when she was on her breeding cycle; have as much sex as possible, and run like the damn wind. The trouble was that in a pack full of testosterone fuelled males getting out in the open didn’t always prove to be the easiest thing to do.
An unmated female needed to report her cycle to the alpha so that he could order all unmated males inside, otherwise it would be like a damn convoy of horny male wolves chasing the female down and trying to mate with her, and probably beating the hell out of each other for the privilege, and the female? Well, during a breeding cycle, when it got that bad – she probably didn’t much care who the hell she mated with.
Right then, she was starting to feel the first effects of her breeding cycle – mild irritability, cramping, a craving for anything sweet, and the first pangs of being horny. But, she also needed to run – sometimes it was as simple as cleaning her cabin from side to side, twice over, but not today – today she was feeling the itch to churn up to earth beneath her paws and run until she couldn’t run anymore.
She was certain that by the time the running phase was over all she would want to do was take her female friend, and lots of batteries, to bed with her, where she just might stay for the rest of the damn week. Life for an unmated she-wolf wasn’t always easy.
If she’d had a mate then her body would have been calmed after the first drop of his seed hit her womb. It would have satisfied the itching and clawing within her to find the one that would give her pups.
That wasn’t to say that she still wouldn’t have worn out her man with her insatiable cravings and appetite, just that she wouldn’t have wanted to rip heads off of live chickens, and snap and growl at everyone while she was doing it.
Right then, her wolf was leading her a merry dance. Heading fast and straight, right by the waterfall, and on towards the boundary line between the pack and clan territories.
Her wolf knew better than to cross that line at the best of times. Tyler’s old clan were brawlers, and her wolf definitely wasn’t a match in size or strength for even one of those bears on a good day. Although, with her breeding cycle coming upon her, she might just have had some more motivation to rip a few heads off and shove them up their big furry bear butts, but no, going to clan land was a big no-no.
Mari wasn’t overly worried. Apart from the small crush that she’d shown towards Cole earlier – which she now considered acceptable considering her breeding cycle was coming on and her subconscious was probably looking for someone to satisfy her needs, and
if Cole did anything right, it was probably that – but on the whole, she’d never really thought about dating a bear.
Her wolf would get so far and then turn east to come back on its path and take her home. She was sure of that.
If she wanted a romp or two with an unmated male then there were a few to choose from within her own pack, she didn’t need to go find trouble within that clan.
Mari’s mind flicked back to Cole. She couldn’t seem to stop herself from thinking about him since the crash. It was probably some kind of screwy hero worship, after all, he had pulled her out of the truck…
Cole, with his dark soulful eyes and his strong, square, stubble covered chin. That barrel chest packed full of muscles, and those big, stocky arms that could lift her and turn her body to right where he wanted her while they were…
Geez, stop it already!
Cole is a bear. Not just any bear, but a brawly, bad mood bear that torments Tyler at every opportunity.
Cole is the last person I want to get down and dirty with…
Maybe not the last person…
Her beast sped up a little, as if it didn’t get the memo, it was heading right for clan land, and Mari tried to pull up, pull back, turn the damn wolf around, but it had a lust on for that land, and she couldn’t understand it.
No, no, no! Are you trying to get us killed?
Gangbanged by a group of out of control bears is not how I want to spend my breeding… well… God no!
I suppose it would satisfy those needs…
She snapped that thought off right there and then. Growled at the wolf to stop, but the wolf had a one tracked mind and carried on regardless of her protests.
What the hell are you doing?
‘I have a little problem…’ Mari put it out there into the pack collective. She hadn’t wanted to ask for help for her out of control she-wolf, and yet, she was getting further and further into clan land, and her damn wolf was showing no signs of stopping.
‘Did Cole find you yet?’ Justice growled back and Mari’s head spun.
How did he even know I was on clan land?
How did he even know I was thinking about Cole?
What the hell was going on?
‘N-oooo. Why would he?’ Mari sounded guilty in her own mind. As if she’d broken a cardinal sin or something. Disrespected her pack just by thinking about that damn bear shifter.
‘Damn it,’ Justice growled. ‘Has nobody bothered to tell you yet?’
‘I guess not…’ but from the sound of her alpha’s voice she was kind of hoping that he was going too – or maybe not, it didn’t sound like a good thing at all.
‘Cole is your mate, Mari.’
CHAPTER SIX
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‘Not in this lifetime!’
Mari shot back without even really considering it. Then she had no choice but to face the fact.
Why would the alpha lie?
Cole, my mate. Well, no bloody wonder I’ve been thinking about him.
Ohh, that’s so not good… and yet it’s very good because now I have an out where the pack are concerned if I shag him...
Wait… did Cole find me?
‘Sorry to be the messenger, Mari, but Cole’s out there somewhere trying to hunt you down.’
‘Hunt me down?’ Okay, so that news was worse than Cole being my mate. ‘Shouldn’t you kind of led with that one first?’ She growled back at Justice.
‘It’s alright, Mari,’ Maverick’s voice echoed within her mind. ‘We’re out here looking for you too.’
‘If that’s supposed to be reassuring, Mav, it’s not.’ Mari bit out.
She needed to get her damn wolf turned around. She guessed the beast had known its mate when she found him, but even that didn’t fill her with joy and that warm fuzzy feeling.
‘Thanks for your unwavering faith in our abilities to keep you safe,’ Callum growled, taking her slur personally.
‘There’s just one really big damn problem with you plan, boys. I’m not on pack land anymore, I’m in clan territory.’
Mari heard the curses in her mind from members of her pack and those curses echoed her own.
The pack weren’t near. Cole was back on pack land hunting for her, and her beast had finally gotten it into her thick head that she needed to turn back around and get the hell out of there.
There was only one problem with that. She could already hear the heavy thump of paws coming at her from all directions. She wouldn’t be placing any bets that the clan didn’t already know exactly where she was.
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Cole’s bear was running as fast as it could. Following Mari’s scent had been the easy part. She smelled like heaven and a promise of what was his, and he’d know that damn scent anywhere. The hard part was the fact that his bear was not only as mad as hell that she’d run from him, eager to hunt her down and mate with her before she could get away again, but the beast could also scent the taunting and tantalising essence of her sex hormones in the air beckoning it on.
His mate was coming into her breeding cycle and he wanted her. He felt that need with a fire akin to lava within his veins to have her, to mate, to bond, and he wouldn’t stop until he’d found her and claimed her as his.
She was a shifter, and thank the spirits for that, because his bear was not going to be damned gentle when he found her. Especially not now that he could scent her need for him.
That very feminine essence was getting stronger the further towards clan land that she’d running, and that wasn’t a good thing. If she got too close to the clan’s boundary line they might just pick up on that scent and go after her…
A female on her breeding cycle was a powerful incentive for any unmated shifters, and the bears in his clan were undisciplined and unpredictable, just as he was. He needed to get to her first.
His bear roared within him at the thought. There wasn’t one member of his clan that he’d trust to be around Mari when she wasn’t on her breeding cycle, not until they were mated, but now… like this…
Tyler… I’d trust Tyler’s bear and the man was mated…
‘Tyler, I need your help…’ Cole used the link with his clan to see if he could still connect with Tyler. The man hadn’t been a part of his clan for a while now, and the bear would never be able to access the pack link with which his honour was now aligned, but had he turned off that part of himself that could still connect with the clan?
‘Cole, if you hurt her…’ Tyler’s voice came back and he’d never been more grateful in his life to hear those pissed off tones.
‘She’s venturing onto clan land…’ Cole didn’t have time to explain, but in a way he guessed that someone had managed to fill Tyler in on some of it.
‘No, brother. She’s already there.’
Tyler said the words that Cole did not want to hear. His beast roared as his claws tore up the earth under his paws.
He was giving it everything that he had and maybe even a little more. He needed to reach her before his clan picked up her breeding scent and went into a damn frenzy.
He’d kill every last one of them, but the damage would already have been done.
He damned the vampire for knocking him out. If anything happened to his mate he would make Connor, Justice, and anyone who’d had a hand in it pay, and pay dearly.
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Mari’s wolf ground to a halt. The white wolf, so majestic in stature looked nervous and caged now. She lifted her head and scented the air, all around her the smell of bear hung in the breeze.
Trapped.
They were approaching from all around. The sound of their paws against the earth was almost deafening as her heart raced and her mind swam with thoughts and regrets.
The wolf had come here searching for Cole, the mate that Mari hadn’t known she’d found, and now she was going to have to fight to survive to get back to him.
How many bears for one little she-wolf to fight
off?
Cole was hunting her on pack land. She knew that he’d follow her scent and find her eventually, but by then it could already be too late.
She was a mate, and she knew it. Her wolf would never allow another male to touch her. Not now that it knew the true one.
That meant only one thing – it would be a fight to the death on her part.
Her beast backed up towards the nearest tree trunk. It would shield her back, somewhat, and they would have to come from in front and all sides to get to her. For now, it was the best that she could do.
Just this once in her life she wished that she had magic. She hated witches and everything that they represented with a vengeance, but magic would be a preferable gift to use now when there just so many beasts coming at her…
I’m sorry, Spirits…
If I have offended you I promise to change. I promise to try to be nice to everyone in my pack… to be at peace with them… just please… please, don’t let this happen.
I want Cole.
I want my mate.
Please let my pack get to me before the bears…
By some magic, by some miracle, help me out of this.
It was too late. With a rumbled growl that sounded hungry by nature, and needy by design. The first of the clan bears appeared.
Mari’s heart leapt into her mouth at the sight of him. She’d thought that Tyler’s bear was big, but that one…
Mari wedged her backside against the thick tree trunk and pulled back her lips in a snarl that told the bear just what he was in for. Of course, the bear took that as a damn challenge and tossed his head back in a roar that looked like a yawn gone wrong.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
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“Look who I found…” Connor announced, appearing right in front of her, putting himself in between the bear and the she-wolf, and placing Chelsea down upon her feet beside him, before he shoved the witch around behind his back.