The Clawed Squad: Stetson (The Bear Shifters of Clawed Ranch Book 1)

by Kim Fox

  Contents

  Copyright

  About

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  Bonus Chapter

  More Books by Kim Fox

  More Books by Kim Fox

  More Books by Kim Fox

  More Books by Kim Fox

  More Books by Kim Fox

  More Books by Kim Fox

  The Clawed Squad:

  Stetson

  The Bear Shifters of Clawed Ranch Book One

  By KIM FOX

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  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Contains explicit love scenes and adult language.

  18+

  www.AuthorKimFox.com

  Copyright © 2016 by Kim Fox

  New series featuring new bear shifters on the Vega Ranch! The Clawed Squad can be read as a standalone series!

  Kylee Black is the Sheriff in Colwood, Montana. She likes to keep the quiet sleepy mountain town drama free. Which means, shifter free. So when a large squad of ex-con bear shifters show up out of the blue and move onto the Vega Ranch, she has a big problem with it. Especially with the huge sexy one, Stetson Evans, who keeps haunting her dreams with those vexing green eyes.

  Stetson is not mate material. He’s destined to be the grumpy bear of The Clawed Squad. Broken. Tormented. Alone. That’s how it has always been and that’s how it will always be. Until he meets Kylee, the tough talking Sheriff of his new town. She brings out a new side of him that is both exciting and terrifying. Will the meanest shifter in The Clawed Squad be able to convince the beautiful curvy Sheriff that all shifters aren’t bad?

  But Stetson is not just up against Kylee’s long held prejudices. They’re both up against a dangerous secret that could destroy the two of them and will have them both asking a very important question: Can you change fate?

  The fine print: HEA. No Cliffhanger. Contains explicit love scenes and is intended for mature audiences only.

  one

  “Well if it isn’t Sheriff sexy,” a slurred voice called out as Kylee stepped out of her police cruiser.

  Shit. These guys again.

  “It’s Sheriff Black,” she corrected, slamming the door closed as she glared at the three young punks standing across the street. They were from Arlington, the town next to the town that she presided over: Colwood, Montana. They kept coming over here lately and causing trouble. Mostly getting drunk and harassing the locals. Harold, the owner of the bakery, was furious when his shop window had been broken and the side of his building was tagged with graffiti. He was convinced that it was them and he was probably right.

  Kylee would have to deal with them soon, but right now wasn’t the time. She had more pressing matters to attend to.

  “Sheriff Black with the sexy rack,” one of them called out and they all burst out laughing.

  Kylee took a deep breath and tried to slow her pulse that was beginning to race. These three were getting bolder lately. It wasn’t a good sign.

  She turned with her hand resting on her gun and gave them a look that made two of them drop their eyes and scurry away. The third one, a stocky teenager named Todd, stared her down. He was the ringleader.

  “If you’re still here when I get out,” Kylee said with a tight voice. “We’re going to have a problem.”

  Todd snorted a laugh and slowly followed his friends. Thought so, bitch.

  Kylee shook it off and opened the door of The Call of the Wild bar. Johnny Cash was mumbling out of the jukebox mixed with the sound of pool balls cracking, glasses clinking, and the murmur of the crowd of ranchers enjoying a beer after a long day of work. It was a nice place, cozy with wooden walls, candles on the tables, and broken peanut shells scattered on the floor. It was the only bar in the small town and Kylee had been going there since she was old enough to get a fake ID. Sometimes she would come and get a beer after her shift. Jack the bartender was always fun to talk to and his tidbits of trivia that were always horribly wrong were usually good for a laugh. She took a deep breath and straightened up. She wasn’t here for drinks tonight.

  There were some new residents in Colwood, Montana that she wanted to size up. Rumor was that they were a crew of shifters. That was bad enough but it wasn’t the thing that was the most worrisome to her. She had done some research on them and was shocked at what she had found.

  “Hey, Sheriff,” Jack called out from behind the bar. He looked at the waitress Mikki who was flirting with her new husband, the youngest Vega brother Hannibal. “Did you call the cops?”

  “No,” Mikki said, shaking her head. Her black hair with the bright blue highlights bounced on her shoulders like an out of control Slinky.

  “Nobody called,” Kylee said, scanning the bar as she walked over. The fellas in the back playing pool made her stop dead in her cowboy boots. They were huge. Shifters alright.

  She tried to place their faces to the little mug shot pictures that she had been studying earlier that afternoon. The twins were easy, Slate and Karl Ember. They looked exactly alike as they fought over who got to shoot first.

  The tall handsome one looked like Ivan Maltese, the former prince of Malderanian. He went by the nickname, Royal. He was holding a pool cue and rolling his eyes impatiently as the two twins argued.

  Kylee straightened her hat and walked over to the bar where Jack was waiting with a smile. “Beer?” he asked with a grin.

  “I’m working,” Kylee answered curtly.

  Jack shrugged. “I’ll put it in a coffee cup.”

  That did sound tempting but she shook her head. She had been putting in a lot of hours researching these new guys and could use a cold drink. But that wasn’t the way that she handled herself when she had her badge pinned onto her shirt.

  “Well at least come back for a drink after your shift,” Jack said, cracking open a beer and sliding it in front of Hannibal. He took away the empty bottle.

  “Alright,” she said, trying to get Jack off her back. She liked the guy but she was in business mode and the man who she wanted to talk to was sitting right in front of her. “Can I speak to you for a second?” she asked Hannibal.

  “Me?” Hannibal asked, jerking his head back in surprise. “Okay,” he said, holding his wrists up like he was expecting her to cuff him. “I’m guilty. I stole that chocolate bar in the third grade. I knew it would come back to haunt me.”

  “Sorry about him,�
�� the waitress, Mikki, said as she lightly slapped the back of Hannibal’s head. “He’s still a work in progress.”

  Kylee nodded to her. “Congratulations on the wedding.” Not congratulations on marrying a shifter. How could you be so stupid?

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling wide as she jumped up. “I better get back to work. My break is over.”

  Jack huffed. “Your break was over twelve minutes ago.”

  “Put it on my tab.” She stuck her tongue out at him as she skipped over to a table of customers.

  “What can I do for you, Sheriff?” Hannibal asked, looking at her curiously.

  Kylee took a deep breath and glanced at Jack who was watching them closely. “Let’s grab a seat over here,” she said, pointing to an empty table in the corner.

  Hannibal nodded as he slid off the stool and headed for the table. Kylee glanced back at the new guys in the back and swallowed hard when she saw the size of a man sitting against the wall in the shadows. How did I miss him when I walked in? He was enormous. Definitely a shifter.

  She kept her eyes locked on him for a second too long and he looked up at her with bright green eyes that shook her to her core. They were stunning like two jade stones sitting on a spotlight. He ran his thick fingers through his messy brown hair and she gasped at the size of his arms. They were tattooed and thicker than her legs, which was saying a lot. She wasn’t exactly Sheriff Stick-Thin.

  Heat rushed to her cheeks and she turned away before he could see her turning red. That must be Stetson Evans. She remembered those eyes from the picture in his police file, although they looked rougher, like he had been through some tough times since the photo had been taken years ago.

  She walked over to meet Hannibal at the table but she could still feel Stetson’s eyes on her, watching. It gave her the shivers.

  Goddamn shifters.

  Hannibal seemed relaxed enough. Kylee had grown up in Colwood, Montana and had known all four of the Vega brothers, Khan, Alexander, Julius, and Hannibal from around town. All of the girls in Colwood knew of the hot Vega brothers.

  Hannibal was younger than her but she knew his brother Julius fairly well. They had been in the same grade. And he was her first kiss.

  The Vega brothers were nice guys. They were good shifters but these new guys on the other hand, were something else entirely.

  Kylee glanced back over her shoulder and those intense green eyes were still on her. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the terrifyingly big man until he turned away.

  These six strange men had just come running into town out of nowhere and out of the blue the Vega brothers transferred four thousand acres of their family ranch to them for free. Kylee was here to see if the four brothers were being extorted. But if the Vega brothers, four tough bear shifters, were being bullied by this new crew then what hope in hell did she have to stop them?

  Kylee had run background checks on all six of the new owners of the Vega Ranch and she was horrified as to what she had found. All six of them were former criminals. And for some rough shit too. Espionage. Assault. Murder.

  But what really freaked her out was that they all seemed to be released from prison on the same day and none of them were even close to finishing their prison sentence. Something was up with them and she had every intention of finding out what it was.

  Hannibal took a sip of his beer as he waited for her to begin. He was handsome with freshly cut brown hair that was combed to the side with gel and sparkling brown eyes that were always analyzing and studying the room or person in front of him. He was the smart Vega brother.

  “I just wanted to chat and see how things are with you guys,” Kylee said, trying to sound casual as she sat down.

  “We’re great,” he said, looking genuinely happy. “We have babies on the way, new wives. Life couldn’t be better.”

  “Good,” she said. “Anything else happening over there?”

  Hannibal raised his eyebrow and smirked. “Are you asking about our new neighbors?”

  Kylee cursed under her breath. She was easier to read than an audio book.

  “I just want to make sure you guys are okay,” Kylee said, and it was the truth. “You guys come home after disappearing for years and then these unknown shifters take over half your ranch. For free on top of it. It’s all a little odd.”

  Hannibal froze as he locked eyes on her, looking like he was trying to figure her out. “Shifters?” he repeated with a furrowed brow. “That’s folklore Sheriff. You’re going to lose your position if you bring up crazy stuff like that.”

  “Oh, please,” Kylee said, waving her hand. “Your brother Julius told me all about shifters. He even showed me his bear when we were in high school.” She left out the part why: Julius was desperately trying to impress her so that she would sleep with him. It didn’t work.

  Hannibal crossed his muscular arms that were covered with tattoos of quotes and writing passages. He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. “We’re fine,” he said, staring at her. “We’re happier than ever and a portion of our ranch was happily given to our old friends the Clawed Squad, as a gift.”

  The Clawed Squad? This was getting weirder every minute. He knows more than he’s telling me.

  Kylee swallowed hard and leaned forward. “So you guys are expecting a bunch of cubs soon? It doesn’t bother you that these six men living on your land are all convicted convicts who never finished their prison sentences?”

  “Nope,” Hannibal said, taking a sip of his beer.

  She had tried to throw Hannibal off of his game but he was too quick. Too smart. Should have tried with Julius. I would have just had to undo a button on my shirt and he’d be singing like a canary at an American Idol audition.

  “Do you know why they didn’t finish their prison sentences?” Kylee asked, giving one last ditch effort.

  “Nope,” he said, standing up. “But they’re right over there if you’d like to go ask them.” He pushed in his chair and nodded at her. “It was nice talking to you, Sheriff.”

  Kylee smiled tightly at him and then turned to the back of the bar. The big guy, Stetson, was gone but Royal and the twins were still there. The other two members of this Clawed Squad, Thorn and Tyler, weren’t at the bar at all. It was time to introduce herself and let them know who really ran shit in this town.

  She stood up and took a deep breath. She placed her hands on her hips, brushing her thumb against the cold metal of the gun in her holster as she walked over. Knowing that it was there normally made her feel better but tonight she was still shaking in her cowboy boots. These shifters looked bulletproof.

  “I don’t know why I play with you guys,” the tall one nicknamed Royal said, shaking his head as the two twins got into each other’s faces. “You two can’t stop fighting for two minutes.”

  One of the twins looked at the tall shifter, Royal, and frowned. “Can you imagine having a double of yourself follow you around everywhere?” he asked. “I hate myself so naturally I hate him too.”

  “It’s true,” the second twin said as he nodded. “Besides his unnaturally handsome looks, he’s horrible to be around.”

  Royal rolled his eyes as he hung his pool cue back on the rack. “You’re both horrible to be around. I’m going to go find Stetson.”

  “Excuse me, gentleman,” Kylee said, her voice coming out squeakier than normal. She cleared her throat and tried again, speaking deeper this time. “Are you the new residents at Vega Ranch?”

  One of the twins stuck out his chest and nodded. “Yes, but we’re actually changing the name of our share to Slate Ranch.”

  “Shut up, Slate,” Royal said, shaking his head.

  “The name is still in beta stage,” Slate responded.

  Kylee raised her chin and looked from one shifter to the other. “I’m Kylee Black and I’m the Sheriff here in Colwood. I was wondering what your intentions are in our little town.”

  Royal shot the twins a sideways glance as she waited for an answer.
>
  Unfortunately, it was Slate who gave her one. “Purely innocent,” he said with his palm on his chest. “We promise we’ll be nothing but gentlemen and we’ll have your town home by nine pm on the nose.”

  What do I say to that?

  “What my idiot friend is trying to say,” Royal said, stepping forward, “is that we’re all upstanding citizens and we are looking forward to settling down in your beautiful mountain town to start a life, a career, and families.”

  “Yup,” Slate said, pointing at Royal. “That’s what I was trying to say.”

  “Good,” Kylee said, still eying them down. “As long as your life, career, and families don’t clash with the law then we’ll get along just fine.” She leaned over the pool table while her thumb stroked the handle of her gun. “Just know that I run a tight ship around these parts.”

  “Aye aye, Captain!” one of the twins said, saluting her. The other twin slapped his shoulder as he tried to stifle a laugh.

  “You boys have a good night,” she said, turning and heading for the door. She nodded at Jack as she left.

  The night was cool and she took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. Andrew wouldn’t be happy. She’d have to explain to him that these investigations took time but he wouldn’t want to hear that. Men like Andrew wanted results and they wanted them yesterday.

  She sighed as she walked to her car. Andrew was livid that there were more shifters coming to Colwood. He even hated the Vega brothers and they were harmless.

  “What the shit?” she said under her breath when she saw her police cruiser. PIG was spray painted across the side of the car in big black letters. Those fucking ki-

  Someone rushed up behind her and yanked the gun out of her holster. She spun around in a panic and saw Todd, the ringleader of the three punks who she met on the way in, holding her gun with an evil grin on his face.