The man she loved was dead, and she’d been too afraid of what could have been to let him know before he’d sacrificed himself for her and her children.
She scented her boys before she saw them. Her body shook and she pulled at her restraints, her wrists practically numb at this point.
Frank walked in with a bear cub under each arm. The scent of fear wafted off each boy with such potent intensity, she knew they were practically paralyzed at this point.
Her bear clawed at her, her tendons snapping as she started to shift at the sight of her sons in the hands of a monster.
Anya did what any momma bear would do in this situation.
She lost her shit.
With strength she didn’t know she possessed, she pulled at the chains one last time. Cement and plaster fell on her as the wall gave way. Her left wrist was broken for sure, but her right one was only partially mauled.
“Bite, boys! Bite him!” she roared as she stood on shaky legs.
The boys growled, and Frank’s eyes widened. Owen and Lucas dug their teeth into Frank’s arms and the human screamed, dropping her cubs.
Her boys let go of the butcher and landed on their feet, scrambling to her. She took two steps toward them, but before she picked them up, she wrapped the fingers of her unbroken hand around Frank’s throat.
“Never again,” she said quietly, her voice as deadly as a blade. “Never again.” With that, she snapped his neck and walked out with Owen and Lucas, shutting the door behind them with Frank’s body still in the room. She needed a moment to figure out her next step in the plan before the guards that were still left standing came storming in. The fact that they hadn’t come with the roaring and screaming worried her more than she thought possible.
She fell to her knees and hugged her children close. “Shift back to human, babies. I know you’re tougher in your bear forms, but we need to get out of here and I can’t be seen carrying two little cubs.” She kissed their little faces and pulled back as they shifted.
“Momma!” Lucas wrapped his arms around her neck, kissing her and crying.
“Oh, babies,” she whispered, hugging them close.
“Momma, what’s wrong with Cole?” Owen asked, his voice so low she almost didn’t hear it.
She hadn’t forgotten Cole, but she honestly didn’t know what to do with his…body.
Anya swallowed hard and tried to compose herself. “I think there are scrubs or something in that closet over there,” she said, ignoring Owen’s question for the moment. Her boys were naked and still wore their collars and brands. “Get dressed and be quick. Okay?”
They nodded at her, worried looks on their little faces.
“Where’s your collar, Momma?” Lucas asked.
She put her hand to her neck and cursed. The collars had been in Cole’s hoodie pocket. She prayed Frank hadn’t taken them or she’d be dead as soon as she made it back to the compound.
If she made it back to the compound.
No, she wouldn’t think like that. She’d get her boys back to the compound and find a way to move on with what happened here. But first, she had a few things to do before the human guards came sniffing around. It was a miracle she’d been safe this long.
“Come here for a moment,” she said softly. She quickly removed their little collars and put them in her hoodie pocket. Her wrists ached, and she knew she’d need a healer soon, but she’d live with the pain for now. “Now go find a long shirt to put on boys. I need…I need to see to Cole.”
They scurried off quietly to the closet, and she went back in the other room and over to Cole’s body. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and kissed his brow. “Thank you for getting me to my boys.” She reached into the pocket of his hoodie lying on the table and pulled out their collars. When she leaned forward to kiss him one more time, her heart almost stopped.
Did his chest move?
Was he breathing?
Please let him be breathing.
Oh, God. She slapped at his face. “Cole, baby. Wake up. Wake up, love. I need you.”
Cole’s eyes fluttered, and her hands shook. A crash sounded in the hallway and she froze.
“Wake up, Cole.” She growled low. “It’s time to get up, lazy cat. Don’t make me pull your tail.”
“Not. Lazy.” Cole’s voice was a low growl, and she almost wept.
“Cole!” Lucas called out quietly, dancing at Anya’s feet. He and Owen had on scrub tops that were too large, but at least they weren’t naked. Owen tugged at her arm, and she looked down to see her little boy holding another top.
“For Cole.”
Hell, her boys were smarter than she was sometimes.
She pulled at Cole’s shoulders and forced him to sit up. “I know you’re hurting, but the humans are coming and we need to go. Now.”
Cole blinked at her, but she didn’t see the human part of him. His eyes were all cat.
That could be a good thing. He growled again, his chest bloody but rumbling.
“Put this on,” she ordered, handing over the scrub top. When we’re out of the building, we can’t have a naked, bloody man walking around.”
He growled low.
“Okay, then we can put it on when we get out of here. But come on. We need to go.”
He reached out, his fingertips claws. Oh, yes, he was all cat right then, not a hint of the man.
“Mine,” he growled.
She kissed his cheek, knowing they didn’t have time for this. The boys pressed against Cole’s legs, their little bodies shaking.
“We need to go. Now.”
“Hold. Boys.” Cole bit out. “I. Kill. Humans.”
“Okay, baby. I can do that.” She picked up her sons and winced as her wrists almost gave out. She and Cole were in bad shape, but damn it, this was the best they could do for now.
Cole hissed as he stood. “Keep the boys safe,” he growled out. He might only be mostly cat at this point, but she knew he was the most dangerous thing in the building. “Our cubs need to be safe.”
Well, she didn’t quite know what to think about that.
After that display of claiming, the door burst open and four men stumbled inside. Cole roared like the cat he was and pounced. Anya pressed her boys close, grabbed the stack of gauze and bandages on the counter, and followed as Cole laid waste to anyone in their path. He killed each and every single one of them in swift precision, his body shaking with adrenaline, rage, and most likely, agony.
Soon they were outside the building and on their way to the car. Cole pulled the shirt over his wounds and took Owen from her.
“You’re hurt,” she whispered.
“So are you,” he said, as Owen laid his head on Cole’s shoulder. As soon as they were in the car, Cole started the engine and they were on their way home. It took everything within her not to pile in the back with the boys and hold them close, but they needed to look as normal as possible for any humans that might look their way.
As they pulled away, she thought she saw the white-gold of Tucker’s hair out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t be sure.
She didn’t understand that polar bear and his motives. But hell, she didn’t care right then.
She had her babies. Cole was alive. And they were on their way home.
Other things could matter later.
They had to.
Chapter 9
A branch cracked under the soft pad of a paw, but Cole didn’t twitch his ears at the sound. He kept perfectly still on his perch in the tree beside his home. Unlike the last time these two had hunted him, they weren’t stomping around the forest and were slightly quieter. It seemed they’d been learning about tracking since their last voyage to his tree.
He’d gladly be the one to teach them how to track and hunt.
He tried not to smile and kept his eyes firmly closed as the two little bear cubs tugged at his tail. Their claws were sheathed so it didn’t hurt him. However, he might just pass out from the cuteness.
; Lucas growled while Owen batted playfully. Cole couldn’t help himself and grinned. He stood up, keeping his tail high so the boys would have to jump for him, and stretched. When he yawned¸ he let out a little purr then jumped from his branch. The boys rolled onto their little tummies and tried to growl at him.
He lowered his head, flicking his tail in the air. The boys pounced on his back, play fighting. He rolled around with them, letting their little paws swipe at him. They kicked his kidneys a bit, but it was worth it. His body didn’t ache as much as it had. He’d had four days to heal from his torture. The boys seemed to have bounced back from their ordeal, as well.
Their collars were on and they smiled when in their human form.
He couldn’t ask for much more.
The scent of honey and crisp apples hit him and he licked his lips. Okay, maybe he could ask for something more.
“Are these little cubs too much for you, lazy cat?” Anya teased.
He rolled on this stomach, gently nudging the boys to their feet. He shifted back and pulled on sweats as the boys shifted back to human form, as well. Owen and Lucas took out their spare pants from the same spot Cole had placed his. He grinned at the thought that they felt comfortable enough to share his space so freely.
“I have cakes for everyone,” she said softly, her heart in her eyes. He was honestly surprised she’d been able to smile as much as she had since the kidnapping. But he supposed now that she had her boys with her, she could relax, if only for a moment.
Owen and Lucas reached for their dessert, murmuring their thanks as they stuffed their faces. Cole prowled toward Anya, wanting something much sweeter than a cake.
“Thank you,” he whispered as he slid the treat from her fingertips. He brought her hand up to his lips and licked the excess frosting. “Delicious.”
She blushed but rolled her eyes. In the four days since they’d returned to the den in secret, they hadn’t spoken about what had occurred between them. They’d told their Alphas and most of the Pack about their ordeal, but that was it. They’d healed and tried to find balance within their lives. Only he wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to the way things were.
Actually, he was really fucking sure he didn’t want it.
“Boys,” she reprimanded. “What did I say about coming out here without someone watching you?”
Lucas lowered his head, but Owen pressed his body into Cole’s leg. He ran his hand over the boy’s head.
“We were with Cole,” Owen said. “We were safe.”
Anya smiled softly. “I guess you were.” She bent and kissed each boy on the cheek then rose and kissed Cole gently on the lips. He froze, not sure what to do. She gave him a secret smile then winked.
“Okay, boys, come hang out with me for a bit,” Oliver said as he lumbered toward them. “We’ll head to the den bonfire, and your mom and Cole can join us later.”
Cole blinked a few times, unsure what was happening. From the way Oliver winked at Anya, the siblings had a plan in place. It would have been nice if he’d been let in on the secret, though.
They said goodbye to the twins, and suddenly, he was alone near his favorite tree with the one woman he wanted to call his own.
“Show me your place?” she asked, her voice low.
He took her hand and led her to his home, his heart racing. He’d been staying away to give her time to heal. He hadn’t wanted to jump her the first chance he had and scare her away. Jesus, he was acting like some cub getting laid for the first time. He wasn’t usually this clueless.
As soon as he closed the door behind them, Anya had her hands on his chest and his back pressed to the door.
“Four days is long enough to heal, don’t you think?” she asked, her voice a purr. Damn, she sounded almost feline when she did that.
He ran his hands along her side and up to her face. “Fuck, yeah. It’s way too long. But tell me what you’re thinking, Anya. I thought you hated me.”
She shook her head, kissing his palms. “No, I love you, you lazy cat. I want you, and I want us to be a family. I know you’re my mate.”
He grinned then leaned forward and nipped at her lip. “Don’t call me lazy.”
She rocked her body along his and he purred. “Since I’m still dressed and you haven’t said anything about mating to me, maybe you are lazy.” The quick shot of uncertainty in her eyes made him feel like a heel for teasing her.
“I love you, Anya. You’re my mate and you know it. My cat claimed you long before you first tried to push me out of my tree.”
“It wasn’t a push. More like a tiny nudge.”
He smiled then ran one hand down her back to cup her ass. “It was a push, but it’s okay. You can push at me any time you want. Especially against doors and walls while you go down on me.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and she snorted.
“Cole…”
“Baby, I love you. You know that. I know we’re still learning each other, but we have the rest of our lives to do that. I want those cubs as mine. I want us to make babies of our own and see if they turn cat or bear. Either way, they’ll be ours. All of them.”
Tears filled her eyes and she leaned closer, brushing her lips along his. “Mate.”
“Mate,” he whispered back.
When she ground against him, he shifted their positions so she was against the door and he stood between her legs.
“Thank God you wore a dress today,” he muttered then undid his pants. He slid his hand between them, found her wet, ready, and bare, then pushed into her with one thrust. They both moaned as soon as he was fully inside.
“No foreplay?” she asked, her voice breathless.
He slowly slid in and out of her, his hands on her thighs, keeping her spread. “We’ve been having our own form of foreplay for weeks.”
She smiled and rolled her hips. His eyes crossed and he pumped faster. Anya clung to his shoulders, and he rested his forehead on hers, needing her as close to him as possible. When he slid his hand between them and brushed his thumb over her clit, she stiffened before coming on his cock, her cunt clenching around him. The tight vice brought him over the edge and he roared her name. She tilted her head to the side, and he sunk his teeth into her shoulder, claiming her as his for all to see. His body still thrumming, he licked the wounds then turned his head for her to mark him.
When her teeth bit down, he almost came again, his body shaking at the sheer force of her claim.
“Mine,” he whispered.
“Yours, though you’re mine as well, lazy cat.”
He grinned, licking up her neck to behind her ear. He was already hard again, slowly working his way in and out of her.
“Of course.”
He had his bear, his mate, and no matter what happened next, he knew that he had found the path he’d never thought he needed. They’d complete their mating tattoos and show the Packs that it didn’t matter that he was cat and she was bear. They were one. He would claim the boys as his own and raise them to be the men he knew they could be.
He’d found his future, his mate, his family.
The world and his den were changing with each passing moment, but he knew he would be able to face it. He wasn’t alone anymore, no longer abandoned to the fate he thought he faced.
He was branded, but not forgotten.
He was Pack.
He was hers.
Unseen
Chapter 1
Despite the sharp nip in the air, a large crowd was gathered in the center of the compound to share the evening meal.
It truly was an amazing sight. Wolf, cat, and bear all mingling together, despite the fact that they were all forced to share a cramped compound.
They weren’t celebrating the death of Dr. Talbot. Not really. They were all sensitive to the fact that he was the biological father of two bear cubs. But there was an unmistakable sense of satisfaction in the knowledge that the bastard was no longer around to do his sick experiments on shifters.
Nicole Bradley, however, wasn�
�t there to appreciate the sight of history being made. No. She was standing at the edge of the thick trees that circled the clearing to make sure that she could slip away undetected.
Slowly, her gaze skimmed over the familiar—and not so familiar—faces that were standing near the large bonfire where Soren’s mate, Cora, was passing out sticks loaded with hot dogs to roast. The two had devoted endless hours to creating a sense of harmony among the shifters. Not an easy task when they were all short-tempered predators who’d been caged, branded, and collared.
Just for a minute, she felt a wistful regret that she couldn’t join in the communal spirit.
Once upon a time, she would have been the first to offer to help Cora serve dinner. Or lead the game of volleyball that was starting up in the sandpit.
But her heart had died seven years ago with the brutal murder of her young pup. Now she felt nothing but a driving need to punish those responsible.
With a sad shake of her head, she turned away and melted into the darkness of the trees.
Only a few weeks ago she could have taken a direct route to the hidden tunnel she’d dug beneath the fence that surrounded the compound. With only the wolves in the area, they’d had a small measure of privacy to run through the forest. Now, however, she had to stay on constant guard; making sure not to cross paths with a bear or cat who was out for an evening stroll.
Twice she’d had to circle out of her way when she caught the scent of shifters, the delay only intensifying her pulsing need to be on the hunt.
Tonight, more than any other night, she had to be out of the compound. She had to ease the choking sense of pain that was as raw and real as the day her son had died.
Which was why she ignored the sound of footsteps behind her.
She had to get out. Now.
Unfortunately, her pursuer had other ideas. Just a few feet from the towering fence, a male form abruptly darted past her to block the narrow path.
Forced to a halt, Nicole glared at the wolf shifter with dark tousled curls and eyes the color of cognac. Soren, the Beta of the River Pack. She might have known.
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