by M. L. Briers
He didn’t know if Owen had picked up Macy’s trail yet. He hadn’t seen the vampire since they’d parted ways and started the hunt for the little girl, but he had and he didn’t like where it was leading him.
The hunt for her was leading him through the woods towards clan territory. And whatever was waiting for him on the other side of the tree line would be better dealt with shifter to shifter.
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“You!” Jordan exclaimed as the vampire appeared in front of her as if by magic, and his sudden appearance made her jump back a step in surprise.
“Relax, Mama bear,” Owen began to try to placate her but Jordan wasn’t interested.
“Where’s Macy?” She demanded, eyeing him with suspicion.
“Of course, let’s blame the vampire.” He rolled his eyes back in his head and gave a fake sigh.
“Fine, apologies, Macy’s missing. Have…”
“I know. Harvey knows too — he’ s hunting her…”
“Hunting her!” Jordan’s eyes widened as her pulse rate increased like a runaway steam train hurtling down the tracks, and Owen might have been amused at any other time but that one.
“My, how humans rush to judgment. Hunting — may be the wrong word,” Owen grinned.
“Then what’s the right word?” Jordan demanded. But she didn’t have time to wait around for the answer, and she sidestepped the man with a sideways glance to see what he would do.
“Tracking…” Owen offered. “Does that appease your sensibilities?”
“Well, it’s a hell of a lot better than hunting. But no matter what you call it if Harvey can find Macy I’d be grateful.” She said back over her shoulder, continuing on her search with the vampire right there behind her on her heels.
“Grateful?” Owen asked.
“You do the math.”
“Grateful enough to give Harvey another chance?” Owen asked, and that question made her snap her head around. Her eyes glared at him.
“What, do you run a dating agency that I don’t know about?” She tossed back at him and almost pitched headfirst towards the ground when the toe of her boot snagged on an exposed tree root.
Owen’s hands were on her arms stabilizing her before she even had a mind to know what was going on.
“Something like that.”
Jordan had been pulled up short. She turned to look at the vampire as the two of them stood in the middle of the woods, so close that a breeze couldn’t even get between them.
“Thanks for the catch — now, back off.”
“You’re not very trusting, are you?” Owen released his hands and took a step back as he held his palms up at his chest in surrender.
“I haven’t had a reason to be lately.”
“Hmm, interesting…”
“Please, don’t try to analyze me.”
“Don’t need to.” Owen reached up with one hand and tapped his index finger against his temple. “The mind is a wonderful thing.”
Jordan’s jaw dropped as she stared back at him in disbelief. She hadn’t known what she’d been thinking at the time, but she definitely couldn’t put her hand on her heart and say that it was all sweetness and light.
“That’s an invasion of privacy.”
“Somehow, I don’t think that will hold up in court.”
Owen lifted his hand and motioned for her to continue in the direction that he wanted her to go. Jordan didn’t pause for thought — not with Macy still out there and the vampire possibly able to find her.
But if she discovered that Macy was pulling a fast one and was back in the house hiding somewhere that she hadn’t been able to find her — oh boy, there was going to be trouble.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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“Harvey!” Macy squealed with delight at the sight of her friend as he stalked towards her.
She’d decided that not all bear shifters were as nice as Harvey, and she had started to get bored while waiting with Zach and his brother for Harvey to come home.
“Told you Harvey would be here soon,” Zach said. He snorted his contempt for Harvey, but his words had been meant for the man and not the child.
Harvey knew what he’d been walking into the moment that he’d taken the shifter’s scent from the air where it had been mixed with Macy’s. Zach, his brother Jed, and one of the female shifters from the clan, Amy, had all been waiting for his arrival outside of their rundown cabin.
“Can we go home now, Harvey?” Macy asked, looking a little more nervous than he wanted to see her.
Harvey didn’t rush to answer because he knew that there would be a price to pay and that he’d be the one to pay it.
“Amy, why don’t you go show the kid that thing behind the house,” Zach growled.
Harvey looked at Macy. Even for a child so young, she sensed that something wasn’t right, and she looked to Harvey for reassurance. Harvey nodded once, and Macy walked away with Amy.
“I want the kid,” Harvey growled.
He couldn’t bluff, and he couldn’t walk away. Zach at the upper hand and they both knew it.
“And I want my brother to win that fight tonight,” Zach offered back.
Harvey had a feeling that would be the price. He was outnumbered, and Macy was in danger because his bear was already clawing just under the surface of his skin to burst free and take the brothers down, and he couldn’t let Macy become collateral damage.
“Done,” Harvey growled long and hard. He’d never thrown a fight in his life, and it was an attack on his pride but one that he would survive. “Now I’m walking away with the kid.”
“Not so fast,” Zach said. The man looked like he was enjoying the fact that he finally had the upper hand over Harvey. “What say you and I go a few rounds right now before your fight with my brother tonight?”
It had been asked as a question but Harvey knew better. His shifter blood would heal him before the fight, but not all the way. He’d be weakened, but then if he was throwing the fight anyway he could live with that.
“Not in front of the kid,” Harvey growled a warning but Zach paid him no mind.
“Well, that’s why I had Amy take her around back.”
Harvey knew it wasn’t up for debate. If he wanted Macy then, for now, he’d have to do what the brothers wanted.
His beast didn’t like that. The bear was itching to break free and take both brothers down. But Harvey wasn’t in a good place to let that happen.
“Just so you know — Macy is going to be leaving here with me.”
“Whatever you say, Harvey.”
The subtle smirk on Zach’s his lips said it all. There was more, but Harvey had no clue as to what it could be.
In his mind, he had one chance, one opportunity, to walk out of there with Macy, and that would involve beating the brothers down before he could walk away.
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“We have to move fast — now,” Owen was already in front of Jordan and as the man’s speed increased, she had to run to keep up with him.
“Is it Macy?” Jordan rushed out on a shaky breath.
Her heart was already hammering in her chest, and she could hear her pulse beating a hard tune in her ears as she ran as hard as she could so that the vampire did not leave her behind.
“In a roundabout way,” Owen offered back over his shoulder.
He didn’t want to scare the hell out of the human, but he could hear the distinctive sound of men beating the hell out of each other, and he knew Harvey’s growl when he heard it.
“Go. Run. I’ll catch up to you,” Jordan managed to get the words out even as she fought to breathe.
She wasn’t stupid, she knew that she was slowing him down, holding him back, and she’d do whatever it took to make sure Macy was safe.
“What are the odds?” Owen offered back.
That didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to take her up on it as he raced off ahead of her.
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Harvey was as mad as hell. He hadn’t really expected a one-on-one fight, and he hadn’t been disappointed.
Taking on both brothers at once made his bear want to break out of the cage that he’d locked the beast in and get his true mean on. Harvey couldn’t let that happen because if he released his bear, then the brothers would do the same, and Macy would be in even more danger.
Added to that the time it would take him to shift back to human and get Macy the hell out of there was unacceptable. When the opportunity to take the child arose, he would have to act fast.
It wasn’t just fists that came at him. Neither brother had any qualms about releasing their claws and using them to good effect. After all, they were trying to damage him before the fight tonight.
Harvey could smell the shifter blood in the air. He was giving as good as he got but he was still taking damage.
“Well, this is where all the fun is happening,” Owen’s voice rang out through the grunts of pain and the growling that came from each fighter.
Zach was the first man to back off. Harvey took a satisfying swing at Jed and knocked him down onto his backside on the ground.
“This is none of your business, vampire,” Zach growled hard.
He’d finally got Harvey where he wanted him, and now the vampire was poking his nose in where it didn’t belong.
“I just came for the child. I don’t need to be ripping anyone’s head off today unless you press that point,” Owen offered back.
“I don’t think it will come to that.” Zach grinned. “I think we got what we wanted.”
“Go anywhere near the child or her family again, and you won’t remember this day — because you’ll be dead.” Owen issued the warning.
He didn’t need to do it, and it might have been stepping on Harvey’s pride, but still, it was always better to show the strongest hand to the clan.
“We’re not stupid, we weren’t going to hurt the kid,” Zach bit out before spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“Harvey,” Owen turned his attention towards his friend. The man’s clothes were ripped and stained with his blood and that of the other shifters. “Clean yourself up.”
“Sure, I’ll just go take a shower,” Harvey growled back.
“Oh my God,” Jordan’s voice snatched Harvey’s attention towards the tree line as his mate rushed out into the clearing. Her eyes took him in before darting around the area in search of Macy. “What the hell…?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
~
“Macy is fine,” Harvey growled back. His bear was still just under the surface prickling against his skin, eager to push free, especially now that his mate had arrived.
“Where?” Jordan demanded.
“We found her wandering in the woods,” Zach explained, knowing full well that most of them gathered knew better. It was his way of covering the bases should the human female go to the police.
“I…” Jordan turned her attention towards the shifter. She didn’t need to be told that he was lying. It was written all over his face. And then there was the state that Harvey was in him – Jordan made a calculated decision. “Thank you.”
Harvey growled. He could tell just by looking at her that Jordan didn’t believe the story. But if she’d said anything else then it would have put her and Macy in danger of retaliation, and he hated to admit it, but she’d done the right thing.
“Maybe you should keep a closer eye on the child,” Zach said.
Harvey growled again and took one step towards Zach before Owen put his body in between them. He had a mind to start again where he’d left off and pummel the man until he saw stars. But that was his pride talking — Owen knew better.
“I’ll buy a leash,” Jordan’s tone was acidic. She might have thanked the man, but she wasn’t going to eat shit-pie.
It took a moment, but the shifter grinned. Jordan’s anger simmered within her and more so when Zach laughed.
“I like you,” Zach said.
“Oh, so wrong,” Owen muttered to himself. But there was no way that he was going to try to stop Harvey from getting to the man that time.
Zach didn’t know what hit him. He flew backward through the air as Harvey’s fist collided with his jaw, sweeping him off his feet, and depositing him on his backside on the ground.
“Stay away from my family!” Harvey didn’t need to say more. The shock had already registered on Zach’s face the moment that the haze from the punch had cleared from his mind.
“And you a shifter and all,” Owen chuckled. “Never go after a man’s family.”
“Harvey!” Macy’s voice rippled with excitement as she started towards him leaving Amy standing behind her. But she slowed when her eyes took in the sight of him covered in blood and bruises. “Harvey?” Worry clouded her voice, and his heart went out to her.
“Macy!” Jordan called to her daughter as she started towards her.
Macy’s head snatched to the right at the sound of the mother’s voice, and she immediately looked guilty.
“I just wanted…” Macy started to explain and then stopped.
“Come here,” Jordan said with a tone that told Macy there was no room for debate. The child immediately ran towards her mother.
“Let’s get out of here before I do something that I’m never going to regret,” Harvey growled another warning at Zach. The man hadn’t made any effort to get back to his feet.
Jordan snatched at Macy when the child was close enough to be wrapped inside the protection of her arms. She immediately turned them around towards the woods and saw her father standing there.
Jordan walked a direct path towards him. Jon’s gaze took her in before turning to Macy and then finally looking back over her shoulder to where Harvey was following on behind them.
“A man is just a man – especially when he’s fighting for his family,” Jordan said to her father.
Jon opened his mouth to speak, but Jordan didn’t want to hear it. She walked past him without saying another word.
“Oh,” Owen whispered to the big man as he caught up with him and fell into step beside Harvey. “Someone just earned some brownie points and got in someone else’s good books.”
“Shut up!” Harvey growled.
“You shut up,” Owen teased back.
“Owen…” Harvey grumbled a growl.
“Harvey…” Owen offered back, grinning from ear to ear at just how easy it was to wind up his friend.
“Asshole.”
“Yes you are, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop being your friend.” Owen chuckled.
“Please do.”
“Now you know you don’t mean that,” Owen teased back.
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I think I know what I mean,” Harvey growled.
“And you’re forgetting that I can read your thoughts.” Owen chuckled again as Harvey grumbled another growl and rolled his eyes in his head.
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“Harvey…” Jon said.
He’d followed on behind his daughter and Macy on the trek back through the woods towards their home, but he’d slowed his pace and dropped back a little, waiting for the shifter and the vampire to catch up to him.
“I get it — this is all my fault.” Harvey didn’t need that pointing out to him.
“I can’t say that it’s not what I was worried about,” Jon said.
“You were worried about Harvey protecting the females?” Owen put in. He heard Jon sigh.
“Not exactly,” Jon tossed back with a glare of annoyance for the vampire.
“I said I get it,” Harvey grumbled.
He knew where the man stood when it came to Harvey being a part of Jordan and Macy’s life. He didn’t need to hear it again.
“No, I don’t think you do,” Jon gave a small shake of his head.
“I do,” Owen piped up again. “You wan
ted to be the one to take on the shifters.”
“Why are you here — exactly?” Jon bit out. His annoyance and frustration were thick within the tone of his voice.
“Because, Jon, it’s everybody’s lucky day.” Owen could truly say that it gave him a rush of satisfaction to stick up for his friend.
“Harvey,” Jon said, ignoring the vampire and turning his attention back to the shifter. “I’m obliged.”
“And I’m sure that’s why he did it,” Owen put in before Harvey could say a word. Harvey growled and flicked a death glare at the vampire.
“Would you shut up?” Harvey offered him a warning tone.
“It’s not in my nature,” Owen grinned.
“Go against the grain,” Harvey growled.
“I’m sensing a little tension in the air,” Owen offered back on a smirk.
“You don’t say,” Harvey bit back.
“I do say.” Owen grinned harder.
“Well, don’t say,” Harvey growled.
“Fine, if you don’t want my help,” Owen tossed up his hands in fake frustration, and he had to look away as he chuckled harder.
“What gave it away?” Harvey muttered to himself.
“Is that a trick question? Do you really want me to answer that after you told me to shut up?” Owen said.
“You’ll be too busy digesting your fangs in a moment to even speak,” Harvey growled back as the vampire took a subtle step away from him as they continued to walk through the woods.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
~
“You were saying?” Harvey turned his attention back towards Jon.
“The hell if I know what I was saying,” Jon admitted.
“Wasn’t it how grateful you were to Harvey?” Owen put in and got another growl back for his trouble. “Just saying.”
“Well don’t,” Harvey growled.
“But, I just can’t help myself,” Owen chuckled again.
“My God — It’s like you two are married,” Jon shook his head in disbelief. “You are two grown-ass men with fangs, claws, and everything. And yet, you’re acting like sorority sisters on prom night.”