by Lacey Thorn
One of the worst crimes, as far as bears were concerned, was the mistreatment of a female. The old-school way of thought for bear shifters was that the male dominated and the female submitted. Koby had heard Laramie explaining that to Holt when the human had been in the midst of mating with Jaeda. There was a lot of truth to it. The female was given the choice of mate, but once she settled on a male, most believed it was her job to submit to him in all things. Koby had always felt that was ludicrous. Maybe, because he’d been closer to his mom than to his father. Bethany Holloway had been strength personified, and she was exactly what he wanted in a mate.
Others may not have seen the side of her that he had, but Koby knew she’d been a force to be reckoned with. He’d watched her gently guide his father toward the decisions she wanted, sometimes outright challenging him, though only when she thought they were alone. He’d also seen his father bend to her. She’d been his father’s eyes and ears when other things had demanded his attention. She’d been his right hand, his partner in every sense of the word. Koby would settle for nothing less from his mate. They would submit to each other, forging a bond none would be able to sever.
His thoughts skirted back to Sidia. He swore his heart had stopped when her scream had sounded, echoing around the trees. He’d ripped free of his clothes, only taking the time to strip off his jeans, shirt and shoes before shifting into his bear skin, shredding his socks and underwear. He’d been desperate to get to her and stop whatever threatened her. Jensen had headed to her while Koby had gone around, getting behind her to where he sensed the danger lay.
He’d barreled into the two hunters. He hadn’t smelled either of them. Instead, he’d utilized his hearing to lock onto them and turn the hunters into the hunted. He’d heard them crashing through the brush in search of his mate. The first had turned, and Koby had instinctively struck out with one paw. He’d caught the guy along the chin, flaying his skin open and breaking his neck as his head swiveled with the power of Koby’s hit.
The other guy had lifted his rifle with a clear intent to fire, knowing it would be the only way he stood a chance against a fucking enraged grizzly. Koby had been on him before the hunter could do much more than aim, knocking him to the ground and tearing into his throat, shredding skin and muscle before leaving him to bleed out in the dirt.
Koby wanted to go back and clean up the mess he’d left before anyone stumbled onto it, but it wasn’t his priority. If the bodies were discovered, it would show they’d been killed by a bear, not an everyday thing but not unheard of in Wyoming, either. He’d leave them for now and follow their path back to where they’d been hanging out when they’d found his mate and begun pursuit. Her scent was the easiest thing to pick up on, the smoke still seeming to cover everything else.
He followed her trail back to a cavern and, after a thorough search, discovered a shift in the ground where a well-hidden hatch slid, revealing an opening. He dropped inside, landing in a crouch while he took stock of his surroundings. The air was clear here. His mate’s scent lingered but no other. He shut the overhead opening and took off. He realized he was in the mountain and almost laughed at Nicholas’ ingenuity. Leave it to him to have a quicker way to the top but make everyone else climb the damn thing.
He found a small grotto area at the bottom where it appeared Sidia had spent some time waiting. It killed him to imagine her here, all alone. For how long? What had she heard? Seen? Had she been afraid?
A growl of displeasure rumbled from his chest. He followed her scent to a worn path that led up toward what he assumed was the top of the mountain and what remained of Nicholas’ home. That would be the best place to start.
He exited through a cavern, this time sliding an entire length of wall away. There was a stillness to the air up here, as if nothing moved except the still-smoldering fire. The house was almost completely gone, leaving nothing but rubble and ash behind. He’d be hard pressed to find anything useful in it. He skirted the edge of the clearing around the house first, making sure there were no hidden surprises. Only when he knew he was alone did Koby move toward the house to search through what was left for the cause of the fire and to see if Nicholas or anyone else had been caught inside.
The sun was high in the sky when Koby headed to the tree line and found a spot in the shade to sit for a minute. He pulled water from his pack and guzzled it. He was still sitting there when he felt his brother moving through the woods toward him. Laramie. It surprised Koby that Laramie had chosen to come. He was the alpha now and needed to be more concerned with his personal safety than ever before.
Koby threw a water bottle to Laramie as soon as he approached. His brother snatched it out of the air with one hand and grunted in acknowledgement.
“There’s an easier way up here,” Koby said. “A path through the mountain.”
“I know,” Laramie stated. “I followed the one from the other side, the one the humans took to get up here. Found some interesting things along the way. You?”
“House was bombed. Exploded on impact and appears the fire spread pretty quickly.”
“Nicholas?” Laramie questioned.
“Body inside. Looks like he was heading out when the house was hit. He didn’t make it.”
“First Emmett; now Nicholas,” Laramie said. “It appears our enemy knows there are females still among us, and exactly where they are.”
“We’ll have to pull the others in,” Koby replied.
“I’ve already called in the others. I’ve requested the four former enforcers return, and I gave them each an elder to check on their way back. Declan and Slade have gone after the other two we know of. Jensen is pulling records to make sure there are no other elders we might be overlooking.”
“What about the dart he was checking on?” Koby demanded.
“It looks like Sidia was hit with a drug similar to what Jaeda was subjected to. Sidia’s had a stronger dose of relaxant in it. She was still sleeping off its effects when I left. Walk me through what happened when you and Jensen arrived,” Laramie commanded.
“We could see the smoke of the fire as we drove. We parked on the old logging road and went in on foot while we surveyed the area. I could sense my mate.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Sidia was in danger. I stripped, shifted and went on the hunt for the cause. Jensen went to find her. There were two men chasing her. They’d managed to dart her. I took them out and sent Jensen back to the lodge with her.”
He thought of Sidia, and the way her eyes had widened, the way she’d blinked “no” when he’d asked her to trust him.
Laramie gave a long sigh. “Do you think I can’t feel your pain, brother? I know something is eating you alive. Tell me what happened with your mate.”
“I scared her,” he admitted. “The one person who should never fear me.”
“But you believe she’s your mate?”
“Yes,” Koby said.
“Then explain to me why you’re here while she’s back at the lodge. And don’t give me some bullshit answer about you needing to stay here. Any one of us could have made the trip back to check things out.”
Koby snorted. “I needed to find out what happened to her, to understand what she’d been through. She doesn’t need me at her side right now. I’d only end up scaring her more. I’m afraid if I get near her, the need to touch her, to stake a claim will be too hard to ignore.”
“So stake a claim,” Laramie shouted.
“I plan to,” Koby shouted back. “But not until she’s awake. She didn’t trust me before she passed out in my arms. You think I’m going to do anything while she’s basically comatose to make her trust me even less?”
Laramie grunted. “I think this female already has you tied in knots, and you’ve yet to even taste her. Christ! How will you keep it together once she lets you between her thighs?”
“Watch it, brother,” Koby warned with a growl.
“Fuck,” Laramie said. “What am I going to do if all of you end up mated? I’ll have a
house full of whipped bears.”
Koby gave a snort of laughter. “I’d worry more about what you’re going to do if you find yourself mated.” He laughed again. “I can’t wait to see the woman who leads you on a merry chase.”
“Alphas don’t chase,” Laramie stated. “If I find the woman meant to be mine, she’ll find herself immediately tumbled into my bed and thoroughly mated.”
“Once she realizes how lucky she is to have mated the alpha, she’ll be eager to obey your every command,” Koby added with sarcasm.
“Of course,” Laramie agreed, either not picking up on Koby’s tone or choosing to ignore it.
Koby laughed again. Yeah, he couldn’t wait to see the woman who brought Laramie to his knees. At least, he hoped so. His brother needed a strong mate, not one he could easily control.
Laramie pushed to his feet. “I moved the bodies of the two men you killed to the cave you went through. Made it look as if they’d been camping inside when they were attacked. Just in case anyone heads this way and stumbles across them. Now, show me what you found to suggest a bomb.” Laramie began walking toward the house, and Koby pushed up and joined him.
His body was on autopilot while his mind focused on what they needed to do next. They had to get the rest of the females to safety and do their best to protect the misguided elders who should have immediately turned to their alpha and his family for help. Then they had to find out who the hell had betrayed them and make sure that person never had the opportunity to do it again.
Chapter Four
Sidia woke with a groan, her body complaining with every move she made. God, she hurt. She groaned again with every stretch, her muscles slowly screaming back to life. Pain throbbed from her ass cheek where she’d taken the dart. She’d bet anything she had a massive bruise there.
She blinked open her eyes and took stock of where she was. She was in a nicely decorated bedroom, but it didn’t appear as if anyone really lived in it. Where was she? Better yet, where was Koby Holloway?
She sat up and noticed there was a small figure curled up in a chair across the room, an achingly familiar form.
“Jaeda?”
Her voice was barely a whisper, but still, her sister’s head came up, and a squeal greeted her ears. Jaeda practically jumped out of the chair and leaped onto the bed, bouncing them both.
“Sidia! You’re awake! How do you feel? Are you okay? Oh my God, I’ve missed you so much! I’m so sorry I told them where you were. What happened? You were darted? Jensen said there were hunters and smoke. I’ve been so worried. Are you hungry? Thirsty? You cut all your hair off!”
“Jaeda, take a breath, and let your sister wake up.”
Sidia’s gaze jerked to the man who suddenly filled the doorway, his gaze attentive as he watched her. He had black, wavy hair, bright-blue eyes, and smelled remarkably similar to her sister. Sidia reached out a shaking hand and touched Jaeda’s shoulder.
“It’s really you?”
“Yes,” Jaeda said and pulled her into a hard hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Sidia clung to her sister, and five years of the raw emotions she’d held tightly bottled inside her poured out. She sobbed out her fear and grief and worry and uncertainty and so much more. She wasn’t sure how long they held each other, but at some point, Jaeda started crying too. The dark-haired man entered long enough to drop a box of tissues on the bed with them. He ran a hand over her sister’s hair and dropped a kiss onto Jaeda’s lips when she looked up at him. Then he took his leave, pulling the door shut behind him and giving them privacy.
“Your mate?” Sidia asked, already sensing the bound the two shared.
“My Holt,” Jaeda said, making Sidia smile. They’d always declared that, if they were ever to mate and submit all they were to a male, they would address him as theirs. My mate. My man. My bear. My Koby.
She glanced around again as if by thinking of him she might conjure him up.
“How are you feeling? Jensen said the dart was a pretty straight shot of muscle relaxer and their anti-shifting serum. He also said you might have a headache and be really sore when you woke up.”
She growled. Jensen. She had things to say to him.
“Sidia?” Jaeda questioned. “Are you all right? Should I get someone?”
“No, I’m good.” She glanced at her sister and almost cried again. “Better than good, now that I have you again. I just heard about Emmett. What happened? How did you get here?”
“God, Sid. I was terrified. We didn’t stand a chance against them. He sent me to hide but refused to go with me. He said they’d never stop searching if he wasn’t there. I think he thought he could handle them. They…they tortured him. I ran when I could, headed straight for here. My Holt, a friend of his named Murphy and Koby Holloway found me. If they hadn’t been there, I’m not sure I’d be alive.”
“Were you followed?”
“They chased me into the national park. Took out the tires on my Jeep. Then they tagged me with a dart to prevent me from shifting once I was on foot. I was almost to Holloway land when they hit me again, that time with a tranq dart. I probably wouldn’t have made it if Koby hadn’t shot them and taken them out.”
“He took out the men following me, too.”
Her mate had killed them, protecting her. She should really thank him for that, and she would when she saw him. By the time she was finished, he’d have no doubt just how appreciative she was.
“There were men after you? What happened?”
“We heard them coming. Nicholas sent me to a secret cavern in the mountain behind his house. I was waiting for him when the house blew. I stayed hidden for two days before I ventured out. There were hunters waiting for me.”
“And you walked right out into them?” Jaeda lifted a brow in disbelief. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
“The smell of smoke overrode everything else. I didn’t even know they were there,” Sidia admitted. “What happened when you got here? You mated Holt?”
Jaeda sighed, and her lips tilted up in a smile. “He’s the one I ran to. I knew the moment I saw him that he was the one.”
Sidia understood that feeling. She’d known it the moment she’d smelled Koby’s scent. Seeing him walk toward her in all his naked glory, fresh from battle, had just been icing on the cake, icing she’d like to lick up, slowly and thoroughly.
“What is he?” Sidia asked. “I didn’t scent anything but you on him.”
“He’s human,” Jaeda told her.
“What? How…”
“Did the alpha allow it?” Jaeda finished her question for her, and Sidia nodded. “Holt is a friend of the Holloways. He was here to help out when I showed up and claimed him. The Holloways weren’t too happy about it at first, either. They were furious—or at least, Koby was. He challenged our mating.”
“He did? Koby wants you?” Sidia heard the growl in her voice but would be damned if she’d try to stop it. Her mate wanted her sister? What the fuck?
Jaeda’s eyes widened then she smiled slyly. “I see my Holt was right.”
“About what?”
“Tell me, Sid. Is Koby your mate?” Jaeda questioned.
“Yes,” Sidia declared. “He’s mine, whether he knows it or not.”
“Holt thought that might be why Koby felt a connection with me. It wasn’t really with me, but with you.”
“Because we’re twins?” Sidia asked, and Jaeda nodded. “I guess that makes sense. Did you kiss him? Touch him?” Sidia couldn’t see how her sister wouldn’t. Koby was gorgeous. What woman wouldn’t want him?
“Koby? No! I avoided him as much as I could. He scared me.”
“Koby’s not scary,” Sidia argued.
“It’s good you think so, since you’ve chosen him as your mate.”
“Where is he?” Sidia asked.
“He stayed there and sent Jensen back here with you. Laramie went to get Koby and help find out what happened with Nicholas.”
“There’
s no way he survived that explosion and didn’t join me,” Sidia said with a shake of her head. “We were on our way here. Nicholas said from the start we should have all been brought to the Holloways. He felt it was the only way we’d be truly safe.”
“Emmett worried the Holloways would force us to mate with them. He said the grizzly line would be the only one to survive.”
“You’re mated to a human. Your children will be black bear, like we are.”
Jaeda nodded. “Yours will be grizzly.”
“Or black bear. It’s possible my DNA will be stronger in one of my children.”
“I told the Holloways which of the elders showed up and where to search for the surviving females.”
Sidia heard the shame in her sister’s voice. “I was planning to do the same, starting with you and Xandra. I hope she’s okay.”
“Me, too,” Jaeda agreed. “You were really going to tell them? Even knowing they might force the others to mate with them?”
“Hearing you makes me wonder what Emmett told you and why he did. Laramie Holloway is our alpha. It’s his job to care for the needs of the pack. Sure, he might limit the pool of potential mates. He would want to see the strongest amongst us mated into the next generation. It’s survival. That doesn’t mean we don’t get a choice.”
“What if a woman’s mate isn’t amongst those chosen for her?” Jaeda countered. “My mate is human. He wouldn’t have been given to me as a choice.”
“Then you’re lucky you arrived when you did,” Sidia said. “You seem happy.”
“I am. Holt is my…everything. Though he has some crazy ideas when it comes to some things.”
“Such as?” Sidia asked.
“He refused to mate with me at first, even when Laramie practically ordered him to. He had no idea how we marked our mates. He thought I was going to bite him,” Jaeda admitted with a giggle. “I did offer.”